It is our more deprived communities that suffer most from the impact of crime and are most vulnerable to the influence of organised crime. By providing our young people with positive opportunities, through employment and education, we can help them to participate fully in society and create stronger and more cohesive communities. We also know that access to employment, housing and other services are key to reducing re-offending [].
Issues arising from debt, housing and welfare problems also place demands on our courts. Rather than just dealing with the consequences of crime and disadvantage through our devolved justice system, an independent Scotland will be able to use the full range of powers available to government to make our communities safer, stronger and more secure.
There are also some specific issues that will become the responsibility of the Scottish Parliament on independence. Responsibility for these will allow Scotland to take an integrated approach to issues that affect our communities like drugs and gun crime.
The priorities of the current Scottish Government in an independent Scotland would be:. Firearms: building on current work to improve control of airguns in Scotland, firearms legislation could be simplified, making it easier for the public to understand and easier to enforce.
Road traffic offences and drink driving: building on current proposals for a new drink drive limit, Scotland's roads could be made safer through more appropriate penalties for drink driving, and powers for the police to conduct random breath tests any time, anywhere [].
Gambling: it is estimated there are 30, problem gamblers in Scotland []. With independence, Scotland will have the powers to better tackle problem gambling through effective regulation of the industry, in contrast to Westminster's approach of greater deregulation []. Drugs: since , Scotland's drug strategy, The Road to Recovery , has led the UK in tackling drugs issues and has received international acclaim for its focus on care, treatment and recovery. Drug taking in the general population is falling [] and drug taking among young people is at its lowest level for a decade [].
Whilst drugs policy is currently devolved, drugs classification remains reserved to Westminster. Independence will allow decisions on drugs policy and drug classification to be taken together in a coherent way. Independence will provide the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Government with the opportunity to address significant justice issues that will help define the nature of society in an independent Scotland.
For example, a new written constitution will protect and enshrine our distinctive justice and legal systems to support the rule of law, human rights and a strong democracy. Following independence, existing laws, whether passed by the Westminster or the Scottish Parliament, will continue to apply until they are amended by the independent Scottish Parliament.
Human rights will continue to be protected, as they are for devolved matters under the Scotland Act The independence of Scotland's judiciary and prosecutors will be maintained. Our police, courts, prisons, community justice and fire and rescue services will continue to operate. Police, fire and other public sector pensions will be paid and accrued rights will be protected. Existing well-established arrangements to ensure effective cross-border co-operation between Scotland's justice agencies and those in the remainder of the UK will continue, including, for example, cross-border policing and arrest, and prisoner transfers.
Our courts will continue to collect income from fines imposed on offenders. Following independence, Scotland will continue as a member of the EU and other international organisations concerned with justice, including the Hague Conference on Private International Law and the Council of Europe, which covers the European Convention on Human Rights and a range of criminal law issues. Scottish courts will still refer points of EU law to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg and people will continue to be able to make an application to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
An independent Scotland will maintain current arrangements for extradition, including participation in the European Arrest Warrant scheme and seeking agreements to ensure that criminals can be pursued and brought to justice across international borders. Scotland will work with other EU member states to protect the public and tackle cross-border crime, including through participation in co-operative institutions such as Europol and Eurojust.
However, an independent Scotland would not rely solely on the European Arrest Warrant procedures for arrests that take place between Scotland and the rest of the UK. It will be in the interests of an independent Scotland and the rest of the UK to agree arrangements for cross-border arrests that are as efficient and effective as the current arrangements.
Such a bilateral arrangement is explicitly allowed under European legislation. Security and intelligence. An independent Scotland will be able to take a strategic approach to national security, underpinned by effective planning and investment across government. There will be contributions from the police, a new Scottish security and intelligence agency, the military and others, to ensure appropriate responses to a range of identified threats and risks, including terrorism, cyber security threats and national emergencies.
As part of that, Scotland will need an independent security and intelligence capacity to ensure our security. Independence offers an opportunity to build a new model for such work, which is fit for the 21st century and which provides a proportionate means of ensuring Scotland's national security. We have studied a range of international comparators [] in preparing our proposals []. The current Scottish Government plans to set up a single security and intelligence agency for Scotland on independence.
The purpose of the agency will be set out in legislation, and will include the requirement to work with partners to ensure Scotland's national security. This will be a modern and fit-for-purpose security and intelligence agency.
By day one of independence, it will be responsible for and capable of functions including:. In carrying out these functions it will build on expertise which exists in Scotland in the gathering and analysis of information and intelligence.
Initially, we will draw on expertise such as training and IT from other countries, primarily, given our long joint history, from the rest of the UK. Such joint working in the early period after independence will deliver a seamless transition ensuring that the security of both countries is continuously maintained.
The UK has, in the past, provided such support for the creation or development of security services in other countries []. Setting up a new agency will allow us to do things differently, unconstrained by historical structures and precedent, and avoiding any barriers between different agencies.
As well as traditional covert capability, we will invest in the means to analyse the vast amount of information which is openly available, and to develop our capacity for strategic assessment. A Scottish security and intelligence agency will play a leading role in ensuring the resilience of our critical infrastructure. Scotland is the only country in the UK to have published a critical infrastructure strategy, Secure and Resilient [] , which provides a framework for improving the resilience and protection of Scotland's critical assets.
Following independence, we will further develop our own capability and our particular focus on a wide range of critical assets, while collaborating closely with the rest of the UK. This collaboration will be crucial, given the UK dependence on critical Scottish assets particularly energy. We will invest in cyber security, both in terms of protective measures and to attract and retain the right skills in Scotland. Our strategy will be to secure Scotland from attack, and also protect our citizens and strengthen our economy.
Delivery of some aspects of the Scottish Government's cyber security strategy will be undertaken by the Scottish security and intelligence agency, but other partners such as our universities and businesses will also be involved in our joint effort against cyber threats.
We will continue to work with the rest of the UK on cyber security. This will be in the mutual interests of Scotland and the rest of the UK. During the initial period the focus will be on maintaining our levels of cyber security and ensuring a seamless transition. We expect that the independence settlement will include appropriate recognition of Scottish taxpayers' proportionate contribution to the UK's current Cyber Security Programme a programme of UK-wide investment scheduled to finish before Scotland becomes independent in There are likely to be borderline cases which give rise to difficulty such as: people who claim to have retained their Scottish habitual residence despite periods living elsewhere; and people who live near the border and have connections to both Scotland and England.
Then there are those who miss out on automatic citizenship. You could be forgiven for assuming that child would be automatically Scottish by descent on independence day. However this is not the current proposal. Only children born to Scottish parents after independence day will be automatically Scottish by decent.
Children born outside of Scotland before independence day will be required to register as Scottish citizens. This is likely to be a relatively straightforward process. British nationality law currently recognises a right to register in a variety of circumstances.
Hopefully the Scottish Government would not impose any such barrier to registration. After independence it is suggested there will be 6 ways to become a Scottish citizen. The following people will be entitled to automatic citizenship:. Image source, John Trippick. Landscape was an important factor in people's sense of belonging. All levels of government feel remote. Image source, PA. Few people felt the government at Westminster was influenced by people in their area.
Nuclear weapons is an explosive issue. Image source, MOD. HMS Vanguard conducted the first operational Trident patrol. And finally - Anyone but England at the World Cup. Related Topics. Scottish nationalism Scottishness. According to the Scottish government, all British citizens born in Scotland and all British citizens habitually resident in Scotland would automatically be considered Scottish in the event of independence, whilst anyone with a Scottish parent or grandparent or who had lived in Scotland for 10 years and had ongoing connection to Scotland would be able to apply for citizenship.
The Scottish public do not entirely agree with this. Our survey finds that most Scots feel that being Scottish is a birthright.
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