Criminal Justice Bill passes final stage

The Criminal Justice Bill passed its final stage in the Scottish Parliament yesterday with an unopposed vote following the stage 3 debate.

The bill implements many of the recommendations of Lord Carloway's 2011 report – but not the proposal to abolish corroboration, which was eventually removed from the bill following a lengthy controversy and a series of further reviews of the subject.

Amendments were made at stage 3 to implement the recommendations of the review group led by John Scott QC, which will see a new code of practice, following consultation, on the use of stop and search by Police Scotland.

Justice Secretary Michael Matheson told MSPs: "When that code of practice comes into effect, the current practice of non-statutory, or consensual, stop and search will end. From that point on, searches by the police of people not in police custody will be carried out only where there is a statutory authority or a warrant to do so."

Former First Minister Alex Salmond voiced his concern that the move could hinder the fight against knife crime, arguing that there was a "very strong correlation" betwen the decline in knife crime, and casualties from it, and the use of stop and search powers. Mr Matheson responded that the decline had continued despite the recent drop in the use of stop and search, and "The key thing is to ensure that the police have the right statutory powers to intervene as and when they think it is appropriate to search someone, and to ensure that they are using the right type of intelligence for that purpose."

The Government resisted attempts to raise the age of criminal responsibility from eight to 12, Mr Matheson promising a consultation in 2016 following the report of an advisory group, and to provide legal aid to victims of serious sexual assault or rape when the defence seeks to recover their confidential psychiatric, psychological and/or medical records. It also resisted an attempt to remove children and vulnerable adults from what is now the power to detain a suspect for up to 24 hours in certain circumstances.

However there was support for amendments designed to improve the infirmation available about the effect on their children of an offender's imprisonment.

Other key measures contained in the bill are:

• the modernisation of arrest, custody and questioning procedures, including enhanced protections for child and vulnerable adult suspects;
• creation of a clear framework for the fundamental police powers to arrest, hold in custody and question people suspected of having committed a crime;
• improving the right to legal advice for individuals taken into police custody;
• making greater use of technology in criminal procedure.

The bill will now be put forward for royal assent.