Highlands and Islands MSP, Edward Mountain says the SNP are “letting criminals off lightly” in the Highlands after they wrote off thousands of hours of unpaid community work.
Edward Mountain’s call comes after a Scottish Conservative Freedom of Information Request found that 262,153 unpaid hours of work given to criminals have been wiped out by the SNP across Scotland.
In January, the SNP Government announced they would use “extraordinary powers” to write off a huge number of hours handed out in Community Payback Orders.
In the Highland Council, 11, 317 hours of community payback orders were cut by the SNP which Edward Mountain MSP says is a slap in the face to victims of crimes.
Edward Mountain MSP says the number of hours cut is absolutely staggering and he will continue to push Scottish Conservative plans for a Victims Law to be introduced as soon as possible.
Edward Mountain MSP said:
“The amount of Community Payback Orders cut by the SNP in the Highlands is absolutely staggering.
“They’ve let criminals off the hook by writing off these sentences. That is a total slap in the face to victims of crime across the Highlands.
“SNP Ministers need to ensure these community sentences are taken seriously and fulfilled. It is the latest example of the SNP letting down victims.
“The Scottish Conservatives will continue to push for a Victims Law to be introduced to put victims first and end the SNP’s soft-touch justice system, by ensuring criminals receive appropriately tough sentences."