North of the Border

April 2008

VIOLENCE AGAINST PUBLIC SECTOR WORKERS CONFERENCE IN SCOTLAND

John Speed and Alan Golightly from the Scottish National Committee attended the above conference at the S.A.S Radisson hotel in Glasgow on Wednesday 27th February. The main speaker was Nicola Sturgeon (M.S.P) Scotland’s Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing. Also in attendance was Graeme Smith General Secretary of the Scottish Trades Union Congress (S.T.U.C) and representatives of the Health and Safety Executive (H.S.E). The Conference was attended by over 166 delegates from a range of sectors, including local government, emergency services, public transport, retail and leisure and the voluntary sector.

The purpose of the conference was to further highlight the problem and discuss the way forward in tackling the issue and ensuring Scottish workers are effectively protected against the threat of violence at work, the S.N.C reps took the opportunity to do just that and although prisons by their very nature are violent places, it was agreed that nobody who works in a prison environment should be subject to any form of attack, be it physical or verbal.

The Cabinet Secretary stated that “any attack on a member of staff while at work is completely unacceptable. It is particularly disturbing that a mindless minority think it is acceptable to abuse and attack workers serving the public, ignoring the vital service they provide and the terrible impact this kind of behaviour can have on them both at work and at home”

P.O.A (SCOTLAND) COMMUNICATIONS FORUM

As a result of the P.O.A Scotland communications review which was held last year, it was agreed that meetings between the S.N.C and all of Scotland’s branch reps would take place more regularly to pass information on to each other and that whoever attended from each establishment would pass that information onto their respective members locally. In February the first of these meetings took place at the Perth Civvy Club and all but one branch was able to attend. The meeting proved to be very successful with a number of national and local issues being discussed. It was agreed that whoever attended had a responsibility to report back what was discussed to ensure that as many members in Scotland were aware and as up to date as possible. Some of the issues discussed were an update on pensions, 2.5% savings and the P.O.A.S position, corporate dress, Principle 7, code of conduct review, amongst others. Anyone wishing an update from the meeting should contact the branch rep who attended.

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BUTLER TRUST AWARDS 2008

Dave Melrose (P.O.A Scotland Chair) and Andy Hogg (Trade Union Side Secretary) attended the Butler Trust awards at Buckingham Palace on the 3rd March 2008. There were a number of successes from Scotland some of whom were P.O.A members and the S.N.C wish to congratulate the worthy winners.

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SHANNON TRUST (SCOTTISH AND NORTHERN IRELAND) SEMINAR 2008.

This was the first time such an event had taken place in Scotland for the Shannon Trust and it took place at the Scottish Prison Service College on 10th March 2008. The event was attended by many from Scotland including representatives of the S.P.S. The P.O.A (Scotland) was represented by John Speed. Mike Ewart, the Chief executive of the S.P.S addressed the members and pledged the organisation’s ongoing support for the Shannon Reading Plan which is called Toe by Toe.

The facts are that 60% of those who enter prison have problems with literacy of which 40% have severe literacy problems. The Shannon Trust recognises that without the ability to read it is almost impossible for offenders to take positive steps to address their offending behaviour. Many have experienced a negative attitude towards learning and are therefore reluctant to engage with learning opportunities while in prison.

The Toe by Toe initiative is a flexible peer mentoring scheme which enables offenders who can read to support those who are non-readers, or those who cannot read very well. The initiative has proved very successful when it has been given the chance to be used and the P.O.A have been firm supporters of the Shannon Trust and have in recent years donated money to them (the Shannon Trust rely solely on charitable giving).

Those who wish to know more can do so on

www.shannontrust.com

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NATIONAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE ELECTIONS

The S.N.C wish to congratulate Steve Cox who was recently re-elected as National Vice Chair and also to Pete McParlin, Steve Bostock, Brian Traynor and Joe Simpson on successfully seeking re-election onto the N.E.C and to Stephen Baines who was elected for the first time. We always welcome all members of the N.E.C to visit Scotland at any time especially to the Scottish Conference; however I would like to remind them to bring their wallets with them. Well done guys.

Cheers Speedo

Levy & McRae WORKING FOR YOU

OUR SERVICES TO MEMBERS OF THE PRISON OFFICER ASSOCIATION OF SCOTLAND

In addition to what is covered by the policy we also offer the following:-

Free Will drafting service

Discounted Conveyancing service

Discounted advice following the breakdown of a relationship

Advice provided 24 hours a day 7 days a week

Recent Successes;

•£24,000 received by officer after trip at work

• Acquittal of officer on serious assault charges after 3 day trial

• Prison Officer’s wife gained settlement in a constructive dismissal claim

What to do if arrested, detained or questioned by police

Your jobs as prison officers are more hazardous than ever. The likelihood of a complaint being made against you, particularly a malicious one, is greater than ever.

Complaints against prison officers can take many forms.

On duty, they can come from an inmate who believes that an officer has manhandled or even assaulted him or her. They can come from a fellow officer on duty with you who believes that you have mishandled a situation.

Off duty, they can come from a neighbour trying to make trouble for you in what may be a simple boundary dispute or perhaps a complaint could be made by a spouse or partner.

We deal with many different forms of complaint against prison officers and without question the most common circumstance in which we are first involved is where an officer has been detained or invited to attend voluntarily for an interview at a police station. This is a critical stage of any criminal investigation and often takes place when there is little evidence to secure a prosecution. Recovery of any additional evidence from you, whether documentary, physical or from what you say, can be the difference between a case being marked no proceedings and a full scale prosecution. Accordingly, following the correct legal course at this stage is absolutely critical.

If you are arrested and detained at a police station by the police, section 14 of the Criminal procedure (Scotland) Act applies.. While it allows police to detain you for a period of 6 hours, it carries obligations upon the police. First,

'he shall inform the person of his suspicion, of the general nature of the offence which he suspects has been or is being committed and of the reason for the detention'.

This is a very important requirement and can be of great assistance to you if you are detained, since you will not necessarily know the nature of the inquiry if the police arrive on your doorstep out of the blue. You can at that point determine what the best strategy to adopt is.

First, you should attempt to inform us as your legal advisers, failing whom the POAS or a close family member, telling them to call us. All prisons have our out of hours contact details and we can be reached. While the police do not require to allow us to attend, and often proceed to interview without us present, on many occasions they will afford you access to representation, so it is vital that you do not pass up the opportunity to obtain advice. It is critical in what is a very intense, pressurised environment to have access to independent advice on the law and to have someone to support you throughout what can be a traumatic event.

Normally, and almost without exception, you should exercise your right under s 14(9), which states: 'A person detained under subsection (1) above shall be under no obligation to answer any question other than to give his name and address'.

This right is absolute and while there are some occasions where you may wish to consider making a statement, such occasions are few and far between. If you do decide to say anything, any statement should be kept as brief as possible, such as if you have a clear alibi or can incriminate a third party.

Consulting a lawyer on whether to make such a statement, however, is critical, and if you are in any doubt whatsoever, the far safer course is to say nothing. It may be that in an interview that you feel that it is better to give a full account to show that you are co-operating. While that is not necessarily the wrong thing to do, it is a dangerous path to go down. Saying nothing after receiving the benefit of a caution is not failing to co-operate. It is simply an exercise of your statutory rights as a suspect in a criminal investigation and has formed part of the core of our legal system and many civilised criminal justice systems for many years.

We, as a firm, have conducted criminal trials where the accused has said nothing in interview and those where the accused has spoken. Almost without exception, the easier trials and more favourable outcomes have come from the 'silent' cases and in those where the accused has said something, the more likely acquittal falls where the accused has said very little other than the bare minimum of his or her defence. We have conducted cases where suspects have undertaken very lengthy interviews and it has created a real difficulty for them when they become an accused and give evidence at trial, because it affords the Crown a real opportunity to challenge the credibility of the witness, normally because anomalies or inconsistencies arise. That is not to say of course the person is not telling the truth, but it is very difficult for an entirely consistent position to be adopted many months later. What therefore occurs is that it exposes potential vulnerabilities to the defence case on credibility and reliability. The adage of less is more could not be truer than in this situation - especially if you are unaccompanied.

If, upon conclusion of the detention, you are placed under arrest, as a matter of right, you are entitled at that point to have a solicitor informed and to attend.

While it should be stressed that you should do all you can to secure a solicitor's attendance before this point, you must exercise this right immediately. The police may at this point require samples or fingerprints and they are entitled to, but only after arrest and when in custody and not before.

If they do not arrest you, you must be released within 6 hours from the starting point (which is usually before you get to the police station) and they are not entitled to re-detain you over the same alleged offence at any stage in the future.

In conclusion, remember:

1.You must give your name, address, place of work and date of birth.

2.You need (and should) say nothing further.

3.You must be told on what grounds you are being detained.

4. You can have someone informed of your detention who can be your solicitor.

5. You should remain polite and co-operate with the police; however:

6. Saying nothing is not failing to co-operate, even if it can be raised as an issue at your trial.

We shall be publishing an article in every edition of Gatelodge. If there are any areas you would like covered please contact David McKie on dmckie@lemac.co.uk.

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