Legal news
Call to keep young people out of adult courts
Youth crime could be reduced in Scotland and vital savings made in public expenditure by keeping most under 18 year olds out of the adult court system. That is one of the key proposals made by an independent panel brought together by the charity Action for Children Scotland.
The panel was set up to consider how best to reform Scotland’s internationally renowned Children’s Hearings system. It also recommends mandatory reports completed on the views and wishes of every child who appears before a hearing.
Last week the Scottish Government published its Children’s Hearings Bill which sets out proposals for strengthening the system. The Bill has been welcomed by the independent panel and by Action for Children but they believe it does not go far enough. The panel, chaired by the former Bishop of Edinburgh Richard Holloway, questioned a range of experts on the future of the hearings system at a day-long session in November. They have now drawn up a list of recommendations which will be discussed at a meeting tonight in the Scottish Parliament attended by MSPs from all parties.
One of the key changes that is being sought is to stop putting teenagers through the adult system and, instead, adapt, equip and resource the hearings system to include 16 and 17 year olds.
At the moment, anyone of that age charged with an offence can appear before the adult courts. There is little evidence, however, that this system is working either for the young people who offend or for wider society. Four out of five young people who are imprisoned before the age of 18 go on to re-offend.
The panel believes the social welfare approach of the Children’s Hearings is much better suited to dealing with these young people than the more punitive approach of the adult courts. This is based on evidence from the Edinburgh University Study of Youth Transitions and Crime, among others, which demonstrates that involvement with the adult system confirms young people in their criminal behaviour rather than helps them to break that cycle.
This recommendation would apply to all 16 and 17 year olds, except those charged with the most serious offences.
The other recommendations include:
* greater investment in preventing young people getting involved in crime
* support for families in difficulty to help them care for their children
* a stronger voice for young people who appear before the hearings
* new powers for Children’s Hearings to commission services directly to help and support children