Keeping Communities Safe

As an amendment to motion S4M-01285 in the name of Johann Lamont (Keeping Communities Safe), leave out from “with concern” to end and insert “that Scottish communities have become safer since the current Scottish administration first came to office; notes that crime in Scotland is now at its lowest level in 35 years, that the clear-up rate for all recorded crimes is at its highest level for over 30 years and that the risk of being a victim of crime in Scotland is lower than in England and Wales; notes that, since 2007, violent crime is down by almost a fifth, the number of homicides is down by almost 35%, gun crime is down by almost half and people are significantly more positive about the crime rate in their local area; notes the significant investment made in frontline policing since 2007, with police officer numbers reaching record highs during the last parliamentary session; welcomes the Scottish Government’s commitment to maintaining numbers at 1,000 more than the level that they inherited from the previous Labour and Liberal Democrat administration, and recognises that significant investments and improvements across the justice sector have been delivered in the face of budget cuts from the UK Government and that, while police officer numbers are predicted to fall by more than 16,000 in England and Wales, the Scottish Government is committed to prioritising frontline policing to ensure that Scottish communities remain safe places to live and work.”