Community Justice (Scotland) Act 2016

1 Meaning of “community justice”

(1) In this Act, “community justice” means—

(a) giving effect to bail conditions, community disposals and post-release control requirements,

(b) managing and supporting persons falling within subsection (3), (6) or (7) with a view to them not offending in future or, if that is not realistic, reducing future offending by them,

(c) arranging relevant general services in ways which facilitate persons falling within subsection (3), (6) or (7) accessing and using them,

(d) preparing persons who have been convicted of offences and sentenced to imprisonment or detention in penal institutions for release,

(e) facilitating the provision of relevant general services which persons mentioned in paragraph (d) are likely to need immediately following their release.

(2) In subsection (1)(b), “supporting” includes—

(a) advising and guiding,

(b) providing—

(i) opportunities to participate in activities designed to eliminate or reduce future offending,

(ii) emotional and practical support designed to eliminate or reduce future offending,

(c) helping—

(i) to access things falling with paragraph (b)(i) or (ii),

(ii) to access and make use of relevant general services.

(3) A person falls within this subsection if the person—

(a) has, whether before or after this section comes into force, been the subject of an act mentioned in subsection (4), and

(b) is not for the time being imprisoned or detained in a penal institution (whether in consequence of the act or otherwise).

(4) The acts referred to in subsection (3)(a) are—

(a) conviction for an offence,

(b) the making, in respect of an offence, of a relevant finding (see section 2(2)(b)),

(c) being given an alternative to prosecution in respect of an offence,

(d) arrest on suspicion of having committed an offence by any person having power to do so in respect of the offence.

(5) Subsection (4) includes acts occurring anywhere in the world.

(6) A person falls within this subsection if the person is the subject of a recognised EU supervision measure.

(7) A person falls within this subsection if the person—

(a) is aged 16 or 17, and

(b) is subject to a compulsory supervision order made by virtue of the ground mentioned in section 67(2)(j) of the Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011.