Maintaining faith and trust in the justice system is a vitally important role for any government.
In Scotland in recent weeks there have been worrying signs of a troubled time ahead.
The SNP looks set to break a 2021 manifesto promise and cut the police budget in real terms in the coming years.
Meanwhile, the court service – the very people tasked with ensuring the smooth administration of justice – is facing wage reductions and service cuts.
"Police officers are more than used to dealing with people who are economical with the truth," writes @CalumA_Steele
"They just don’t expect it from their government."https://t.co/5W6yqt1z57
— The Courier Opinion (@CourierOpinion) June 1, 2022
Given the context of severe pain ahead, it is desperately important that the current system is operating efficiently.
Unfortunately, that does not appear to be the case.
There is still a huge backlog of cases in the courts due to Covid, and Police Scotland have been beset by controversy and concerns about performance in recent years.
A powerful anecdotal example of a system not functioning properly is provided by the case of Central Scotland MSP Stephen Kerr.
The Tory politician has revealed he only discovered his stalker had been tried and convicted of threatening his home when a colleague read a court report about the proceedings in The Courier.
It is frankly staggering that nobody in the police or prosecution service had thought to give him forewarning of this traumatic situation.
If an MSP is getting such shabby treatment, it is hard to have much hope for other victims of crime.
