Chamber and committees

No, not everything will be given a crime number.

I am almost regretting that I have given you the information about something that we are actively looking at. However, your questions are helpful in that regard. The general point that I want to leave you with is that I am taking the calls for a definition of an investigation very seriously, and I want it to be clear.

Nobody is saying that, as soon as something is being investigated, a licence is suspended. There has to be a consideration and an analysis before that happens. It is not a case of pressing the button and X happening.

Training should fall under the protocol agreement between Police Scotland and the SSPCA. They will be working on that protocol and the training will come out of that. The SSPCA is comfortable with that and does not foresee much in the way of resource issues. It is more concerned about the fact that it is almost wasting its resource for wildlife crime, because it could be in a situation in which its inspectors could see evidence but are not able do anything with it. The SSPCA wants to work with the police to fill that gap and put together a protocol agreement. Officers who have those powers—it will not be every officer—will undergo the training. All that will come out of the protocol.

No, I do not, because I have been speaking to the SSPCA and Police Scotland about the issue, and my officials have been working closely with them on it. That is why we have arrived at the situation in which the police are comfortable with the powers that they have asked us to outline, which I did in response to Ariane Burgess, and the limitations of those powers.

The most important thing is the protocols that will be generated as a result of the enhanced partnership working between the police and the SSPCA.

The police do not see it as an issue, and the protocols will ensure that it is not an issue. The SSPCA will want to ensure that its involvement in any evidence gathering around wildlife crime is unimpeachable, for reasons that you can imagine. It would like its professionalism to be recognised.

No, I am not concerned at all about that.

I will do the same monitoring as I would do for anything that is in my portfolio, including on how legislation that I have taken through is working on the ground. If it is an issue, it will be brought to my attention by Police Scotland or the SSPCA and we will take it from there. However, I do not foresee that. I feel confident that they will be able to work together. The police have put forward their views on what they would like to see, and we have agreed with them, as has the SSPCA.

Ms Hamilton, I think that you have been a little bit narrow with regard to what I have said. As with any legislation that goes through, we will continue our engagement with the stakeholders that it affects.

I hope that that has been helpful.

I do not know how we could find that out.