‘Keep teens out of adult courts’

originally published by: HeraldScotland
2nd March 2010

Youth crime in Scotland could be reduced and significant savings made by keeping most 16 and 17-year-olds out of the adult court system, according to a new report.

An independent panel of experts is calling for teenagers to be dealt with by the Children’s Hearing system, and mandatory reports on the views and wishes of every child who appears before a hearing.

The panel, chaired by Richard Holloway, former Episcopalian bishop of Edinburgh, questioned a range of experts on the future of the hearings system at a day-long session last year.

They have now drawn up a list of recommendations that will be discussed at a meeting tonight in the Scottish Parliament with MSPs from all parties.

The move follows the publication last week of the Scottish Government’s Children’s Hearings Bill which sets out plans for strengthening the system.

The panel, which was brought together by the charity Action for Children, welcomed the bill but says it does not go far enough.

One of its key proposals 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.

Read full article >

Posted by Tippa Naphtali on 03/03/2010. Filed under Policy & Reform. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry