Commissioner welcomes Criminal Justice Committee pre-budget scrutiny report

The Scottish Biometrics Commissioner Dr Brian Plastow has today welcomed the Parliament’s Criminal Justice Committee’s Pre-budget scrutiny report which identifies opportunities for reform and calls for a detailed programme of investment in the criminal justice system on a spend-to-save basis. 

The Commissioner has said ‘I congratulate the Criminal Justice Committee on its thoughtful and incisive pre-budget scrutiny review report and welcome its findings and conclusions. The police and fire and rescue service were at the vanguard of public sector reform in Scotland yet ironically have since suffered 10 years of significant under-allocation on capital budgets. As indicated in my written submission, this is a false economy with longer term consequences. As recognised by the Committee, it is essential that Police Scotland are properly funded to support capital investment in technology such as body worn video. Doing so would provide ‘best evidence’ from a range of critical operational incidents, and as a corollary offers the potential to save millions of pounds in investigations and other public enquiries.’

The Parliament's Criminal Justice Committee's Pre-budget scrutiny can be found here