YOUNG PEOPLE WHO OFFEND
Waiting for people to come into the criminal justice system and then trying to deal with the complexities of turning their lives around is a poor use of our time, energy and valuable human resources. It is far better to intervene early to prevent offending than deal with the consequences, not least for the victims, families and communities who know first hand how damaging offending behaviour can be. Scotland has a proud tradition of taking a need-based approach to problematic behaviour by young people and this Government is committed to continuing to strengthen the Children's Hearings System with legislation next year. At the same time, we are building on best practice in early and effective intervention, ensuring we are Getting It Right For Every Child5 with all agencies acting quickly to nip problematic behaviour in the bud.
Young offenders in the justice system
The Prisons Commission's focus on 16 and 17 years olds is anticipated by the partnership strategy, Preventing Offending by Young People: A Framework for Action (June 2008) 5, which includes a strand of work focusing on young people who present a high risk of harm and those who make the transition between the Children's Hearing System and the criminal justice system.
We are committed to considering further the Prisons Commission's recommendation around a specialist hearing for 16 and 17 year olds, and the objectives underlying it. We do believe that the Children's Hearings System and the court system have sufficient powers already to deal effectively with both the needs and deeds of young people who offend. However, there is no doubt that we can improve practice in both systems, reducing the likelihood of young people moving into the criminal justice system, but, where necessary, strengthening the transitions between the two. We are also keen to learn lessons from the youth courts about how to increase the effectiveness of the justice system in dealing with young people who offend. An evaluation of the youth court pilots is expected in summer 2009.
In the meantime, under the Framework, the Scottish Children's Reporter Administration ( SCRA) and the Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service ( COPFS) are leading work to reduce the disproportionate number of young people in prison through agencies working better together to share information, develop services and ultimately prevent young people from pursuing adult criminal careers. These agencies have already drafted a joint agreement that will improve information sharing and decision making when young people make the transition between their services.
We are also promoting continuity of service provision across the child and adult systems as good practice. In some areas this is already happening. In the Lanarkshire CJA area approaches have been developed to cross the artificial barrier between services for children and adults that can continue to focus on the needs of young people in an age-appropriate way. This means that young people do not need to offend again before they get a response - better protecting the community and providing more chances for young people to move on to positive opportunities. All CJAs should be providing services in this way.
Few young people become involved in serious offending behaviour but, for the small proportion who do, our responses must be robust and challenging. As with adult offenders, assessment of risk of future offending is paramount in understanding what needs to be done to protect the public from harm.
We have invested heavily in the past to improve the response to young people who offend, and while funding allocation is now a matter for local authorities, we continue to support the further development of social work practice in this area. We have supported the Criminal Justice Social Work Development Centre at the University of Edinburgh to bring practitioners together to learn from research and effective practice. By March 2009, 1,000 practitioners will have had the opportunity to participate in events across Scotland. We have also supported a training for trainers course which will see 300 practitioners skilled in working with young people who display sexually harmful behaviour - undoubtedly one of the most challenging areas of practice.
Young offenders in custody
Some young people cannot remain in their communities as the risks they present, both to themselves and others, are too great and may need to be managed within a secure environment. This Government has sustained the investment in the secure estate made by the last administration, and as a result we have world-class facilities for the young people who pose a high risk to themselves and/or others. Our secure accommodation needs to be effective in challenging and changing behaviour. We will continue to work with local authorities, and third sector secure and residential care providers to ensure that services are successfully meeting the needs of the children and communities, and that accommodation is available for the most difficult and challenging young people.
"F" is 16. When he was 9 he watched as his father drove his car at his mother in an attempt to kill her. They had recently separated. Both his parents are known to the police for various petty offences. That same year "F" was first charged by the police for assault. Over the next 5 years he was charged with committing over 20 offences. Some were serious and he was reported to the Procurator Fiscal. At 13 he began smoking cannabis and drinking alcohol to excess. He was also excluded from school, was placed with foster carers and, due to his ongoing unmanageable behaviour, later placed in secure care. During his time in secure care he built a relationship with a worker who was able to explore the issues in his life and help him come to terms with his own problems and his problem behaviour. It's early days but "F" has not offended again. He is settled in his own accommodation away from negative influences. He has re-engaged with education and is volunteering in his local community. He is grateful to the worker who was willing to spend the time and effort with him, and set him on the right course. |
We are committed with COSLA to ensuring that secure care, a very specialist and costly intervention, is targeted at the very few young people who need it. Following a successful pilot, we have rolled out nationally the power to use Intensive Support and Monitoring Services ( ISMS), with a movement restriction condition (electronic tagging) where appropriate, as a robust alternative to secure care. This intervention allows young people who are at risk of offending or harming themselves to be monitored and supported in the community. As with adult offenders, keeping young people in their communities with additional support to prevent reoffending achieves far better long term outcomes.
This Government is committed to ending for good the practice of sending under 16s to prison. The Criminal Justice & Licensing (Scotland) Bill will abolish the legislation that allows 14 and
15 year olds to be remanded to adult prisons, and Scottish Ministers have already committed to place all sentenced under 16s in secure accommodation, and retain them there until they are at least 18 wherever possible. We have a well resourced secure care estate and robust alternatives in the shape of ISMS so there should never be a need to send children to prison. We are working with the judiciary to discourage the practice of remanding children to prison in advance of legislative change.
We agree with the Prisons Commission that the next area for focus is 16 and 17 year olds in custody. This Government is committed to the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and we are looking carefully at how to ensure where possible that
under 18s in prison are kept separate from adults. The redevelopment of Her Majesty's Young Offender Institution Polmont provides an opportunity to strengthen significantly the regime for young male offenders, including providing an opportunity to develop links to secure units to ensure shared learning and effective transitions across the sector.
Taking it forward
We are committed to reducing the flow into the criminal justice system by:
- Committing with COSLA to transform Scotland's approach to Early Years, the next milestone being the publication of the Early Years Framework in December 2008.
- Continuing to work with COSLA and other partners to deliver Preventing Offending by Young People: A Framework for Action and embed the principles and practice of Getting It Right For Every Child in all our work with vulnerable children and young people.
- Strengthening the sharing of information and joint working across the transition from the Children's Hearings system into adult services and, where necessary, to the criminal justice system.
- Ensuring that the needs of young people are met and their risks effectively managed, with a focus on preventing re-offending, whichever system they are in, including by learning lessons from the youth court pilot evaluation.
- Ending the practice of sending under 16s to prison, and strengthening the regime for under 18s in custody to prevent offending and get young people back into productive lives.