Chamber and committees

The Police Service and the Crown Office have taken steps to improve their existing training on internet crime, including child abuse. The Executive joined with the Home Office in running a UK-wide Internet Child Safety campaign between December 2001 and March 2002. The aim of the campaign was to inform children, young people and their parents/carers of the potential dangers of, and allow them to protect themselves when using, the internet. Dedicated websites and a helpline have been established to offer information and advice following the conclusion of the official campaign.The Executive is committed to strengthening all aspects of child protection to prevent child abuse in any form. The inter-agency audit and review of child protection has been looking at ways of reducing abuse and neglect and improving services for those affected. The review report will be published at the end of the year and the Executive will respond to its recommendations.

The information available is given in the following table.Persons with a Charge Proved for Sexual Offences¹ in Scottish Courts, by Age, 1998-2000

Age	Year
	1998	1999	2000
Under 18	45	29	33
18-21	57	51	69
22-25	40	39	43
26-35	156	138	106
36-45	95	93	76
46-55	95	77	59
Over 55	90	94	63
All ages2	578	521	449

Notes:1. Where the main offence was in the Scottish Executive Justice Department crime group Crimes of Indecency, excluding offences related to prostitution.2. Includes age not known.

Existing statute and common law already provides protection against child abuse. The general position in law is that what is illegal offline is also illegal online. The law therefore covers the abuse of children via the internet as well as elsewhere. However, the Executive keeps the criminal law under review to ensure that appropriate action is taken to strengthen it where necessary.

These continuing attacks on emergency services staff are deplorable and we condemn them in the strongest possible terms. We debated these issues in Parliament in September when there was considerable consensus about the importance of protecting emergency service personnel. There are already a range of protective measures and strategies in place and we need to ensure that these are effective, as well as considering what more might be done.

Under revised recording procedures introduced in 2001, statistics on complaints against the police are now defined to include: "any complaint made by or on behalf of any person against one or more on duty members of a police force and from which it may reasonably be inferred that any act or omission which was made or committed by any of the individuals concerned amounts, or may amount, to a criminal offence or professional misconduct". As a result, the statistics now include complaints classified as minor or trivial, as well as complaints against special constables and police support staff. The information from which national statistics are published is as provided to Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (and separately to Audit Scotland) by individual forces.

Verbal complaints against the police are treated in the same way as a written complaint. The process for making a complaint is contained within the Executive's Complaints Against the Police leaflet, copies of which are available from the Parliament's Information Centre (Bib. number 25098).

It is impossible to quantify the level of risk from drug-assisted sexual assault. The Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency Strategic Assessment examines the extent of drug-assisted sexual assault in Scotland, the drugs used in assaults and their effects on victims.The actions referred to in the answer given to question S1W-29189 today, will help to raise awareness among the public, particularly young people, and should reduce the risks to individuals. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.

As part of our "Know the Score" Drugs Communications Strategy, we are currently preparing a guidance leaflet for young people on the risks from drug-assisted sexual assault. In addition, it is likely that reference will be made to drug-assisted sexual assault in a new "clubbers guide" which is also under preparation. We hope to publish these materials by the end of the year. As part of this task, we are considering whether separate information and advice for licensees should be produced.

The Executive has not commissioned research to look at the wider effects on children of experiencing domestic abuse, but I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-30303 today. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.

The Executive has commissioned two pieces of research that are relevant to this important topic. A study is under way to look at the prevalence of mental health problems amongst children and young people in the care of Scottish local authorities. The research will aim to identify the factors that contribute to mental health problems and it is possible that domestic abuse will emerge as a factor in certain cases. Also, children who have experience of domestic abuse will be included in a study commissioned by the Working Group on Refuge Provision. This will investigate children's experiences, preferences and priorities in relation to refuges for women, children and young people with a view to establishing their future needs.