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THE HAMILTON SHERIFF YOUTH COURT PILOT: THE FIRST SIX MONTHS
SECTION TWO: METHODS
INTRODUCTION
A range of qualitative and quantitative methods was employed to address the objectives of the study. Given that the emphasis was primarily upon examining the implementation of the Youth Court and identifying any procedural changes that might need to be effected to improve its operation, much of the report draws upon interviews with a range of key stakeholders. However, quantitative data were also analysed to examine the numbers and characteristics of young people appearing in and sentenced by the Youth Court.
Baseline data
In order to establish baseline data against which the impact of the Youth Court could be assessed, the following information was gathered from a range of sources:
a. information on the characteristics of young people aged 16 and 17 years (and, where appropriate, 15 year olds) under supervision from Hamilton Sheriff Court in the 12 months prior to commencement of the Youth Court
b. an audit of interventions for young people who offended in North and South Lanarkshire at the commencement of the Youth Court (availability of programmes, interventions and services; when they were introduced; the target groups; and their aims).
INTERVIEWS WITH SHERIFFS AND OTHER PROFESSIONALS ASSOCIATED WITH THE YOUTH COURT
A total of 32 interviews were conducted with sheriffs and with representatives of the key agencies associated with the Youth Court pilot. The interviews, which were conducted five to six months after the introduction of the Youth Court, sought the perspectives of sheriffs and key stakeholders on the establishment of the court and its early operation. While the interviews were tailored to the specific roles of each agency in the Youth Court process, all explored the effectiveness of multi-agency collaboration with a view to identifying obstacles to this process. The sample consisted of:
- three of the four sheriffs who sit in the Youth Court 5
- three Procurators Fiscal, including the two dedicated Youth Court Fiscals
- five defence solicitors who had represented clients 6 in the Youth Court
- eight police officers from diverse ranks and roles 7
- the principal sheriff clerk, the clerk responsible for criminal business and the dedicated Youth Court depute
- two Reporters to the Children's Hearings System 8
- three social work managers, one team leader and four social workers 9.
Interviews with young people and their parents/carers
It had also been intended to conduct interviews with young people made subject to probation orders or structured deferred sentences 10 and their parents/carers. Consent forms were developed and are issued by the social work departments at the point at which a report is being prepared for the court 11. These are now yielding completed consents but to date it has been possible to secure interviews with only two young people. Whilst other interviews had been arranged but not yet completed, it was not considered appropriate to include data from only two young people in the present report.
ANALYSIS OF MONITORING DATA
Data from the Procurator Fiscal
A meeting was held with the Youth Court Procurators Fiscal in August 2003 to discuss the data required from their office for the research. Existing databases did not appear to capture important information that would enable some assessment to be made of the processes and outcomes of the marking of youth prosecution cases. The Fiscals therefore offered to collect additional information on each case referred and to forward this information to the researchers on a regular basis. The data collection forms designed for this purpose aimed to place a minimal additional burden upon Fiscals through the use of closed questions. These sought details of the age and sex of the young person, the local authority in which they resided, whether there were any co-accused, whether the case was discussed with the social work department or Reporter, whether the case met the standard Youth Court criteria or contextual criteria and the case outcome. An additional space was provided for Fiscals to record any additional observations about the case (which they frequently did). Analysis of these data provides some additional insight into the factors used by Fiscals to decide which course of action to pursue in respect of young people referred by the police.
By early January 2004, data had been received in respect of 227 youth referrals from the police to the Procurator Fiscal since the introduction of the Youth Court in June 2003. It should be noted that these cases only represent a proportion of all cases marked by Fiscals during the relevant period since the number of referrals identified from the Youth Court database (see below) was much higher than the number identified through the data provided by the Crown as forms were not completed for early cases. However, the Crown data have been included in the next section of the report since they offer some insight into the factors used by marking Fiscals to reach decisions about whether and where to prosecute youth referrals from the police.
Data from the Co-ordinator
One of the tasks of the Youth Court co-ordinator is to collate information about the characteristics and outcomes of cases referred to the Youth Court. A database was therefore established by the co-ordinator and enabled statistical data to be provided in regular reports to the Implementation Group on the volume of Youth Court business and disposals made. A six-month report prepared by the co-ordinator was drawn upon to furnish information about the number and types of cases referred and their progress from referral to sentencing. This was supplemented by separate analysis of anonymised data provided by the co-ordinator on all cases dealt with in the Youth Court between June and December 2003 12.
Social work data
Discussion took place with social work managers in North and South Lanarkshire to establish mechanisms for obtaining information from social work databases and for obtaining access to young people assessed for the Youth Court and their parents/carers. Access to individual social work records is dependent upon obtaining consent from the young person and consent forms were only beginning to be returned in any appreciable numbers towards the end of the fieldwork period. Although aggregate data on Youth Court cases could have been sought, there were insufficient cases to enable meaningful analysis at this point in the evaluation. Information about the packages of support and intervention offered to young people and their responses to them will therefore be considered in the Phase Three report.
OBSERVATION OF THE YOUTH COURT IN ACTION
Observation was undertaken of the operation of the Youth Court at Hamilton Sheriff Court at different stages of the court process on eight days in November and December 2003. This included observations of referral hearings, intermediate diets, trial hearings, reviews and breach hearings. An observation pro forma was used to record the court session observed which included: details of those present; the duration of the session; and the nature and the content of the interactions between the various professional and public parties. Sessions presided over by all four rotating Youth Court sheriffs were observed by three members of the research team. Cross comparison of observational methods by each observer was made during a piloting stage to ensure reliability and validity.
ANALYSIS OF IMPLEMENTATION GROUP MINUTES
The research team was invited to send a representative to attend the Youth Court Implementation Group meetings and the minutes of these meetings were also made available to the researchers. The minutes were scrutinised to identify the issues being addressed in a multi-agency forum at different stages in the early operation of the Youth Court pilot and whether and in what way they were resolved.
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