Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 (asp 13): explanatory notes

Format:

Corporate Author:

Scotland Scottish Parliament

Publisher:

TSO (The Stationery Office)

This Act includes important reforms to make sentences served in the community more robust, immediate and visible through the creation of the Community Payback Order. It introduces a presumption against short prison sentences of 3 months or lessIt creates a Scottish Sentencing Council to ensure greater transparency and consistency in the sentencing process. New serious organised crime offences are introduced, including a new specific statutory offence in relation to stalkingPrisoners who use advances in mobile phone technology to run their criminal empires from prison will be tackled. The age at which a child can be prosecuted in adult criminal courts will be raised from eight to 12 to help ensure the rights and needs of children are balanced properly with the protection of communities. The Act also makes a number of reforms to the criminal law and court procedures, including a statutory framework for the disclosure of evidence to the defence in criminal cases.