- Asked by: Gil Paterson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 22 January 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 5 February 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of spousal homicide there were from 1978 to 1999 inclusive.
Answer
The information requested is detailed in the following table. The figures shown include all cases where the main accused was the spouse, separated/divorced spouse or cohabitee of the victim.
Homicide victims1 where main accused was the spouse of the victim
Year | Number of victims |
| 1978 | 16 |
| 1979 | 13 |
| 1980 | 19 |
| 1981 | 16 |
| 1982 | 19 |
| 1983 | 17 |
| 1984 | 17 |
| 1985 | 15 |
| 1986 | 12 |
| 1987 | 13 |
| 1988 | 9 |
| 1989 | 23 |
| 1990 | 12 |
| 1991 | 10 |
| 1992 | 14 |
| 1993 | 17 |
| 1994 | 14 |
| 1995 | 13 |
| 1996 | 15 |
| 1997 | 7 |
| 1998 | 9 |
| 1999 | 16 |
Notes:1. Currently (as at 10 November 2000) recorded as homicide victims.
- Asked by: Gil Paterson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 22 January 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 5 February 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to revise Police (CC) Circular No. 3/1990, Investigations of Complaints of Domestic Assault.
Answer
The need to produce a new police circular on domestic abuse will be considered in the context of the National Strategy to address Domestic Abuse in Scotland, which is working on the development and circulation of good practice guidelines and service standards and their adoption by public, private and voluntary sector organisations across the country.
- Asked by: Gil Paterson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 22 January 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Jackie Baillie on 5 February 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what research into public awareness and perceptions of domestic violence it or the Scottish Office have carried out over the past 10 years.
Answer
Research into public awareness and perceptions of domestic abuse was carried out by the Scottish Office in 1994, following the first domestic abuse advertising campaign. Similarly, research was carried out prior to the 1998-99 advertising campaign and repeated afterwards in order to gauge changes in attitudes. This research was repeated after the 1999-2000 campaign and will be carried out after the end of the current campaign on 31 January 2001.
- Asked by: Gil Paterson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 22 January 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Colin Boyd on 5 February 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure that cases of domestic assault are dealt with as quickly as possible through the criminal justice system.
Answer
Internal departmental guidance to prosecutors emphasises the effect that delay can have on a victim's resolve and instructs Procurators Fiscal to seek an early diet of trial, wherever possible.Where an early trial diet has been requested, the court will fix as early a date as possible having regard to the availability of diets and of the witnesses.
- Asked by: Gil Paterson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 December 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 17 January 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what powers the police have in relation to the policing of the Internet and how any such powers can be extended.
Answer
In general, the position in law is that what is illegal "offline" is also illegal "online". Those who commit, or attempt to commit, crimes online are therefore liable to prosecution. The law also provides for specific offences of accessing or tampering with computer systems. Changes to the law relating to the Internet is reserved to Westminster. However, the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland is represented on a UK-wide Internet Crime Forum that allows policy and practice in this area to be kept under review.
- Asked by: Gil Paterson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 December 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 17 January 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there have been any reported cases of approaches to children in Scotland by known paedophiles, initiated through chat rooms or the Internet, that have not led to criminal proceedings.
Answer
The information requested is not held centrally.
- Asked by: Gil Paterson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 December 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 17 January 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether any criminal prosecutions have been pursued in Scotland as a result of offences committed against children where the first point of contact was through Internet chat rooms.
Answer
The detailed information requested is not held centrally.
- Asked by: Gil Paterson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 22 December 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 12 January 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what procedures are in place for recording the number and nature of European Convention on Human Rights issues raised in legal proceedings under section 7 of the Human Rights Act 1998.
Answer
Since Convention issues may be raised in any legal proceedings, whether civil or criminal, involving a public authority in any court or tribunal across the country, it would not be possible at reasonable cost to gather the statistics to which Mr Paterson refers.
- Asked by: Gil Paterson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 04 December 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 10 January 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-10963 by Mr Jim Wallace on 30 November 2000, what action it has taken in the light of its discussions with the End Child Prostitution and Pornography Trafficking Campaign.
Answer
The discussion with ECPAT (UK) forms part of a continuing series of Home Office led meetings, the outcome of which will result in a formal public consultation exercise early this year.
- Asked by: Gil Paterson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 December 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 10 January 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to ensure that the computers and e-mail addresses being provided to schoolchildren will not allow access to children by paedophiles.
Answer
The Scottish Executive has issued an information pack "ClickThinking - Personal Safety on the Internet" to all Scottish schools and to a wide range of other bodies dealing with children. The pack gives guidance to children and young people, their parents or carers, teachers and others who work with young people on using the Internet in a safe and informed way; and includes a set of resources for schools and families. The pack can be found on the Internet at
www.scotland.gov.uk/clickthinking.
All schools and education authorities have been encouraged to produce policies for the safe and ethical use of the Internet. In order to facilitate this development the Scottish Executive is organising a conference in February 2001 for Education Authorities to ensure a common understanding of security issues.
