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Section Five: Outcomes of the Airdrie Youth Court

Introduction

5.1 This section of the report focuses upon the outcomes of the Youth Court with particular reference to its effectiveness in bringing about reductions in recidivism. This is examined by comparing rates of recorded crime in the areas served by the Youth Court and in other areas with similar demographic characteristics and by comparing reconviction among young people sentenced in the Youth Court with those of a similar age sentenced in other courts. This chapter also considers intermediate outcomes as indicated by young people's reported responses to orders made by the Youth Court along with the views of professionals and young people themselves. First, however, the impact of the Youth Court upon sentencing patterns is examined.

Sentencing Before and After the Introduction of the Youth Court

5.2 Given that the Youth Court had available to it a wider range of services and resources for young people made subject to community-based supervisory disposals, it is possible that Sheriffs may have been encouraged to make greater use of disposals such as probation in the Youth Court. The Youth Court in Airdrie began operating in June 2004. Concentrating on the 15 - 17 target age group, there was a sharp increase in 2004 in the numbers of young people in this age group who were sentenced in Airdrie. The disposals received in each of the 4 years are summarised in Table 5.1.

Table 5.1: Summary proceedings for 15-17 year olds sentenced in Airdrie by year of sentence (column percentages)⁵⁴

Source: Scottish Executive Justice Statistics Unit
Note: Percentages do not sum to 100 due to rounding

5.3 Comparing disposals, the use of community sentences (probation order, community service order or restriction of liberty order) increased in 2004 but declined again in 2005 while the use of fines or compensation orders decreased from 2003 to 2005. The use of imprisonment decreased slightly from 2002 to 2004 but increased sharply in 2005 while the use of other sentences (mostly admonitions) increased in the same year. These data suggest that the introduction of the Youth Court in 2004 may have had an impact on the use of community sentence in Airdrie in that year but that this impact was short-lived. It is possible that the suspension of the power to review probation orders in court in July 2005 dissuaded Sheriffs from making greater use of this option in the latter part of that year with the consequence that the proportionate use of community-based social work disposals in Airdrie was the same as prior to the Youth Court's introduction. What is less easy to account for is the very large increase in the numbers of young people convicted in Airdrie in 2004 and 2005, though it is possible that the introduction of the Youth Court and availability of associated resources encourage prosecution of cases in it that might previously have been dealt with in some other way, such as a fiscal fine. Additional data provided by the Justice Statistics Unit indicated that the number of young people convicted in the District Court covering the Airdrie Sheriffdom had not risen in 2004 in comparison with previous years but had risen sharply in 2005 to 238 cases from 124 cases in 2004.

5.4 Table 5.2 compares sentences passed in the Youth Court and in the Sheriff Summary Court in 2005 ⁵⁵. This suggests that the increased use of custody in that year was attributable largely to its proportionately high use by the Sheriff Summary Court . Both courts made broadly similar use of community-based social work disposals and monetary penalties, however the use of admonitions was much higher in the Youth Court. This would be consistent with the previous finding that the Youth Court was dealing with a higher proportion of first offenders than the Sheriff Summary Court.

Table 5.2: Disposal for 15-17 year olds sentenced summarily in 2005 in Airdrie by court type (column percentages)

Source: Scottish Executive Justice Statistics Unit

Changes in Recorded Crime

5.5 It has been estimated that a small percentage of persistent young offenders are responsible for around 25 per cent of all crimes recorded by the police ⁵⁶. Although the Airdrie Sheriff Youth Court did not formally nor exclusively target 'persistent' offenders, its aim was to effect a reduction in youth crime and if it was being successful in this respect, recorded crime in its police area may be expected to show a greater reduction or less steep increase over time in comparison to non-Youth Court areas.

5.6 To assess whether the introduction of the Youth Court had brought about a reduction in crime among those in its target group, and hence in crime rates more generally, a comparison was made of the levels of recorded crime in Airdrie and 2 comparator areas before and after the pilot commenced, drawing upon data provided by the police. Criminal incidents in Scotland are officially recorded as crimes (usually more serious) or offences (usually less serious) and these are categorised under 7 headings. As the Youth Court was a summary court it tended not to hear cases categorised in groups 1 and 2 covering violent and sexual crimes. The focus for analysis was therefore on categories 3 - 6 that cover less serious crimes and offences. Road traffic offences were also excluded from the analysis (although offences such as theft of or from vehicles would be included under category 3).

5.7 Across these categories there was an increase in the number of crimes recorded from 2003 to 2005 (see Table 5.3). The largest overall increase was in Ayr while the increases in Airdrie and Falkirk were or a similar magnitude. In all areas there was a large percentage increase in group 4 and group 6 crimes and offences; in all likelihood attributable to the new recording practices ⁵⁷ rather than a dramatic rise in the level of these incidents. With respect to Group 5 crimes, there was no increase in Airdrie while the 2 comparison areas showed an increase. In all 3 areas the incidence of Group 3 crimes decreased but the percentage decrease in Airdrie was smaller than in the comparison areas. This category, covering the theft of motor vehicles and housebreakings, was forecasted to be less susceptible to recording practice changes and is, perhaps, the most valid to compare year on year. That said, the changes in recording practices make interpretation of these data highly problematic. There is no consistent evidence from these data of a reduction in crime in the areas covered by the Youth Court in comparison to other demographically similar parts of the country. However, given these problems of interpretation, neither would a conclusion that the Youth Court had had no impact on local crime be warranted.

Table 5.3: Percentage change in recorded crime in Airdrie and comparison areas 2003 to 2005 by crime and offence category

Sources: Strathclyde Police and Central Scotland Police

Reconviction Analysis

5.8 Due to the time span of this research, it was not possible to conduct the standard 2-year follow-up matched reconviction study of all the young people appearing in the pilot period of the Airdrie Youth Court. This would be the only way to produce reliable results on the reconviction rate among young people sentenced in the Youth Court. An indicative reconviction study was completed, however these results should be treated with caution due to the limited duration of the study and the limited number of cases used.

5.9 Details were provided by the Justice Statistics Unit of the Scottish Executive reconvictions among 117 young people sentenced in the Youth Court between June 2004 and May 2005. Similar data were also provided in respect of 153 young people sentenced in Airdrie Sheriff Summary Court and in comparator Sheriff Courts in Ayr (163 cases) and Falkirk (219 cases). The length of follow-up period varied from case to case. This analysis indicated that 20 per cent of the Youth Court cases had had a least one new conviction compared with 22 per cent of the Airdrie Sheriff Summary cases, 18 per cent of Ayr cases and 31 per cent of cases in Falkirk. It should also be noted, however, that there were differences across courts in the numbers of previous convictions that the young people had, these being highest in Falkirk and lowest in the Youth Court. Given that previous criminal history is a one of the strongest determinants of the likelihood of reconviction, the differences in observed reconviction rates between the 4 samples might simply reflect their different a priori levels of risk.

5.10 The short time frame of the reconviction study would not have allowed all further offending to have been convicted and sentenced and thus to register in these statistics. Furthermore, numbers of young people involved that could be included here were small. Both these factors preclude fuller analysis of reconviction at this stage and prevent any conclusions from being reached at this stage with respect to the impact of the Youth Court upon recidivism.

Social Workers' Assessments of Progress

5.11 From the 20 questionnaires completed by social workers in individual cases, the most frequently identified objectives were to address alcohol and anger management problems followed by addressing offending and accommodation problems. The most frequently referred to interventions were groupwork (most often programmes to address alcohol and drug problems), anger management, a placement coach and addiction services, although cognitive behavioural and individual issue work, the car offenders' programme and throughcare services were also utilised. In most cases social workers felt that these interventions would meet objectives to a large extent.

5.12 Overall the questionnaires shed a fairly positive light on the progress of young people. Thirteen young people were deemed by their social workers to be responding positively to their orders, while 5 were showing a mixed response and 2 were said to be responding negatively. The same number (13) were reported to be responding positively to the services that were being provided while 3 were showing a mixed response and 4 were responding negatively. Groupwork, individual issue-based intervention and cognitive behavioural work were regarded as being most helpful for young people. More generally, social workers highlighted how young people were obtaining help and support through services that had not previously been available.

5.13 Fifteen young people were regarded by social workers as having reduced (or ceased) their offending while in 2 cases the level of offending remained unchanged and in 3 cases it was perceived to have increased. In 14 cases the reduction in offending was attributed partially or entirely to the young person having been placed on supervision by the Youth Court and to the services accessed as a result. Reductions in offending were attributed to young people gaining employment (or having increased prospects of doing so), improved family circumstances, increased maturity and improved attitude.

5.14 Eight young people were considered unlikely to re-offend, 6 were thought likely to commit further offences and in 6 cases the risk of further offending was considered unclear. Those who were thought likely to continue offending were reported by their social workers as being less motivated to engage with services. Risk of further offending was also indicated by continued offending while subject to supervision, deterioration in family circumstances, reluctance to acknowledge problems regarding substance misuse and the existence of a range of risk factors that had yet to be addressed.

5.15 Further information about the services provided to young people and their outcomes was provided by Community Alternatives: a social work funded centralised service that provides a range of individual and groupwork programmes for young people, including those made subject to orders by the Youth Courts in Hamilton and Airdrie. The service began in May 2005 and between May 2005 and January 2006 Community Alternatives have received 102 referrals from the Youth Courts in Hamilton and Airdrie. Seventy-six young people had been referred to the Placement Coach service, 30 of whom have since secured employment following periods of training in either skill seeker or career training (with another 16 young people awaiting training placements). Fifty-six young people were referred to Offending is Not the Only Choice (an offending reduction programme) of whom 22 had completed the group programme and 14 the individual programme ⁵⁸. Thirty-two young people had been referred to the DROP programme, of whom 18 had completed either individual or group work.

Young People's Views on the Youth Court

5.16 Although only 5 young people were interviewed, their experiences of being made subject to Youth Court orders are nevertheless important. Moreover, although the sample was small and these findings must be treated with extreme caution, the views they expressed about their experiences of supervision were broadly consistent with the information provided on a larger sample of cases via social worker questionnaires and the views expressed by social work staff in interviews.

5.17 Each of those interviewed stated that the offending that brought them to the attention of the Youth Court had been alcohol related. Moreover, they all indicated that their involvement in offending had initially begun after they had become involved in binge drinking and that their offences were committed while under the influence of alcohol. None of the interviewees reported that they were still offending and all stated that they had modified their pattern of alcohol consumption.

5.18 Positive changes in behaviour were associated by young people with gaining employment, changing friends, the influence of family members and girlfriends, participating in groupwork, talking to their social worker, being subject to electronic monitoring and the prospect of being returned to Polmont Young Offenders Institution. None of those interviewed had had previous social work or Children's Hearings System involvement and all but one felt that the interventions they had received as a result of being placed on their order by the Youth Court had been of some benefit. All believed that being employed provided an incentive to avoid further offending but suggesting that balancing work commitments and the requirements of their orders was difficult at times.

5.19 The Youth Court had been the sole experience of the criminal justice system for 3 of the young people while the other 2 had previously appeared in a Sheriff Summary Court. Both said that the Youth Court was faster, provided more information about your case and provided more help. Both thought that while the Youth Court was more helpful and quicker, it was also harder and harsher than a Sheriff Summary court. Indeed, 3 of the young people interviewed felt that the disposal they had received had been too harsh for the types of offences they had committed, though the other 2 thought that the order that had been imposed was fair given their previous record. One respondent, in particular, complained that neither he nor his defence agent had been given prior warning that a number of offences were going to be rolled up (an observation that had also been made by some social work respondents).

Perceived Effectiveness of the Youth Court

5.20 Professionals were generally of the view that the Youth Court was having an impact on at least some of those appearing before it so long as they were able to access the necessary resources to address problems such as drug and alcohol misuse, unemployment and housing issues. Some professionals thought that even if the interventions offered through the Youth Court were not effective in all cases, the ability for the Youth Court to impose custodial sentences - at first sentence or on breach of a community based social work disposal - could enhance community safety and have a deterrent effect at both the individual and general levels.

5.21 Police respondents were particularly positive about the effectiveness of the Youth Court. They felt that the fast tracking process and knowledge amongst those being brought to court that they would go to trial without delay was having an impact. They also felt that options available to the Youth Court prior to and following sentencing, most noticeably the curfews, were having a positive impact on communities. They reported that there had been a noticeable decline in public disorder in particular areas, which they attributed to a small number of young offenders having been in custody and to the use of bail curfews, though this is difficult to substantiate from the available data on recorded crime.

5.22 Other professionals felt less enthusiastic about the Youth Court, with some suggesting that it was a political gesture rather than a solution to youth crime while others said that they needed evidence of its impact on re-offending before deciding whether it was effective. Indeed, all professionals were keen to receive feedback on this aspect of the Youth Court and some indicated that they would welcome more multi agency seminars to provide a forum for such feedback as well as further fostering inter- agency working.

5.23 Professionals were mostly unified in being positive about the effectiveness of the Youth Court in terms of bringing about speedier justice and attempting to meet the needs as well as the deeds of young people. Within this there were also, however, some concerns. For example, some professionals observed that those young people who had been through the Children's Hearing System seemed to be responding less well to the Youth Court. It was thought these young people had difficulty in understanding the seriousness of the situation they found themselves in, the repercussions of not complying with their orders and the different relationship they now had with their social worker ⁵⁹. They seemed to struggle with the expectations and responsibilities placed upon them by the court and needed help in managing the transition into the adult criminal justice system. One solution, it was suggested, was to provide the services that were available to the Youth Court to those identified as being at risk of recidivism while still within the Children's Hearings System.

5.24 Reservations about fast-tracking included the observation from the Fast Track Children's Hearings pilots that getting established and appropriate services to the young people quickly may have been more important than the fast track process per se ⁶⁰ and concern was expressed that an unintended outcome of fast tracking, the rolling up of cases and the use of too many or inappropriate interventions was that the young person would breach their orders and end up in custody very quickly. However, the majority view was that the benefits of fast-tracking outweighed the potential disadvantages and that as long as there were appropriate interventions that could be accessed quickly, the fast track model was one to be aspired to as a feature of all summary justice and not simply the Youth Court.

Summary

5.25 Analysis of sentencing in Airdrie between 2002 and 2005 suggested that there was more use made of community-based social work disposals in 2004 but that the proportionate use of these disposals decreased in 2005 while the use of imprisoned rose. Compared with the Sheriff Summary Court the Youth Court made less use of imprisonment and more use of admonitions. The number of cases involving young people prosecuted summarily in Airdrie increased sharply following the introduction of the Youth Court.

5.26 Changes in the recording of crimes in 2004 make it very difficult to interpret any changes in recorded crime levels in Airdrie and in comparison courts before and after this date. Similarly, given the limited follow-up period available to the evaluation, only a very limited analysis of reconviction data was possible. It is still too early to reach any conclusions about its effectiveness in reducing recidivism.

5.27 Questionnaires completed by social workers in respect of 20 young people were generally encouraging with most being thought to have made some progress and to have reduced their offending (or ceased offending) since being made subject to supervision through the Youth Court. The small number of young people who were interviewed were also broadly positive about their Youth Court experience.

5.28 There was cautious optimism among some, but not all, professionals that the Youth Court would be effective in reducing youth crime through the additional resources available to it, through the deterrent effect of imprisonment and through the incapacitative effects of imprisonment and bail curfews. The police in particular believed that since the Youth Court was introduced there had been a reduction in levels of public disorder in areas served by it.

5.29 While there were mixed views among professionals regarding the desirability of making Youth Courts more widely available, most concurred that the fast-tracking element of the Youth Court should be aspired to as a feature of summary justice in all courts.

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