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Parties pledging action on crime Parties pledging action on crime
(about 10 hours later)
The Holyrood election focus will shift to crime with all the parties promising action on justice issues. The Holyrood election focus has shifted to crime with all the parties promising action on justice issues.
Labour will offer "instant" Asbos where police could take immediate action. The Lib Dems plan up to seven years' jail for knife crimes. Labour are offering "instant" Asbos where police could take immediate action. The Lib Dems plan up to seven year jail sentences for knife crimes.
The SNP wants action on firearms, with powers transferred from Westminster and more community sentencing.The SNP wants action on firearms, with powers transferred from Westminster and more community sentencing.
However, the Conservatives have rejected sentences in the community and have called for extended jail terms. The Tories rejected community sentences and the Greens want politicians to stop demonising youngsters.
Conservative leader Annabel Goldie is to outline the party's proposals to "keep prisoners in prison, rather than put convicts in the community". Conservative leader Annabel Goldie outlined the party's proposals to "keep prisoners in prison, rather than put convicts in the community".
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Nicol Stephen moves his party's campaign focus to cutting crime. She told journalists in Edinburgh that under the Tories' plans offenders would serve all their sentence in jail and also backed a "three strikes and you're out" policy.
Mr Stephen will be in Glasgow, Edinburgh and a youth project in Dunfermline, accompanied by Charles Kennedy. This would see criminals sentenced to their third or more custodial sentence, automatically having extra time added to their term.
Labour's Jack McConnell and Cathy Jamieson head to Sauchie, Clackmannanshire, where they will speak with local businesses about the ending of a recent dispersal order. Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Nicol Stephen also moved his party's campaign focus to cutting crime.
Later they will attend a public meeting and set out their crime and anti-social behaviour agenda. We predicted that authoritarian responses to crime and anti-social behaviour would fail, and fail they have Patrick HarvieScottish Green Party
Elsewhere, SNP Leader Alex Salmond will highlight firearms crime as well as campaigning on plans to abolish the council tax and replace it with a "fair, local income tax" based on the ability to pay. He repeated the party's pledge to bring in seven-year combined custodial and community sentences to deal with knife crime and to recruit 1,000 local community police officers.
Mr Stephen was joined by former UK party leader Charles Kennedy while campaigning in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dunfermline.
"Across Scotland, people tell me they want more action to cut crime and make their communities safer," Mr Stephen said.
Labour's Jack McConnell and Cathy Jamieson were in Sauchie, Clackmannanshire, where the first minister announced plans for "instant Asbos" that would allow police officers to take immediate action without having to wait until a case goes to court.
The Lib Dems are promising tougher knife crime penalties
Known as community protection orders, Mr McConnell compared them to parking tickets issued by traffic wardens.
He said: "I believe there is a need for an instant order.
"An order the police can deal with there and then which ensures the ring-leaders of some of the disorder, the drunken behaviour we see in our streets, can be put under control right away."
Elsewhere, SNP Leader Alex Salmond was highlighting firearms crime as well as campaigning on plans to abolish the council tax and replace it with a "fair, local income tax" based on the ability to pay.
Speaking in Dundee he said: "This is the biggest tax cut in a generation, and will benefit both our hard-pressed pensioners and middle Scotland."
'Social factors'
The Scottish Green's Patrick Harvie accused other parties of pursuing "simplistic policies" which made the problem of crime worse.
The party also said it wanted the "demonisation" of young people to stop, and wanted more resources put into the Children's Hearing System instead of youth courts.
Mr Harvie said: "We predicted that authoritarian responses to crime and anti-social behaviour would fail, and fail they have.
"Despite Labour's predictions, the number of persistent young offenders has risen. And with older offenders, it's clear that over-crowded jails cannot work effectively to prevent reoffending.
"Addressing causes means looking at social factors, as well as issues for individual offenders."
He added that drug addicted offenders needed to be dealt with in a way which "prioritised rehabilitation" and that people's motives for offending needed to be recognised.