§ 10. Mr. Doigasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the Scottish crime statistics, in view of the increase in serious crimes in Scotland and particularly in Dundee.
§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithMy right hon. Friend and I share the concern about the increase in crime and we shall continue policies to combat it.
§ Mr. DoigIs not the hon. Gentleman aware that those are the worst figures ever recorded, that they are causing a great deal of public alarm and that the Government appear to be doing nothing to alleviate the problem other than paying lip service to it by saying they are concerned? Will the hon. Gentleman arrange for an early debate so that if the Government have no ideas they can hear from other people who have ideas on what to do about the problem?
§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithSadly, the figures have been rising over the years, and every year that they rise the figure can be said to be a record. The question of a debate is one for my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House. As to action, the hon. Gentleman should take account of the support we have given to the police with the increase in police strength that there has been over the past two years, and should give as much support as possible to the work of the police in their active combat of crime.
§ Mr. SproatIs my hon. Friend aware of a great and growing feeling in Scotland that at least part of the cause of the frightening rise in crime is the absurdly light sentences passed in our courts? In particular, is he aware that violent assaults on the police now commonly result in a fine of less than £20?
§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithI am aware of concern in Scotland, concern which I share. But penalties are a matter for the courts. There has been a tendency to higher penalties in recent years. I remind my hon. Friend that there is no limit to 1172 the period of imprisonment which can be imposed by the High Court.
§ Mr. BuchanWe are all very pleased that the Tory Party is learning the facts of life. Is the hon. Gentleman aware of the hysterical campaign that was conducted by himself, his right hon. Friend the Member for Moray and Nairn (Mr. Gordon Campbell) and the hon. Member for Ayr (Mr. Younger), not forgetting the hon. Member for Glasgow, Cathcart (Mr. Edward Taylor)? What hysterical representations have they made to him about the recent figures? We on this side will continue to treat the problems seriously and not in the kind of cheap, vulgar, squalid, political way that the Tory Party have done.
§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithMy right hon. and hon. Friends and I always treated the matter seriously, to the extent of taking action in a way that the hon. Gentleman never did when he was in power. He should recognise that the problem is being considered by the Thomson Committee on Penal Procedure. The most important thing we can do to combat crime is to give the police our support. When we came to power in 1970, police establishments were frozen. The net increase in police strength over the past year was greater than in the previous five years put together. That is a measure of the action we have taken.
§ Mr. RossWill the hon. Gentleman get his facts right? Police establishments were not frozen in Scotland. In view of what the hon. Gentleman said, is it not a singularly inopportune time to get into difficulties with the police over their present pay claim?
§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithIf the right lion. Gentleman had been in the House on another occasion, he would know that there were questions to my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on the pay claim. I cannot add to what my right hon. Friend said last week. It is a fact that no review of establishments was taking place when we came to power. Since then, the majority of police establishments in Scotland have been reviewed, and many police forces in Scotland have been able to recruit above the establishment figures they had when we came to power in 1970.