The Scottish Government

« Previous | Contents | Next »

Listen

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

INTRODUCTION

1.1 In recent years the Scottish Executive has explored a number of options for enhancing responses to young people who offend. A Ministerial Group on Youth Crime recommended in 2002 the establishment of a feasibility study to explore the potential for introducing a Youth Court for 16 and 17-year-old persistent offenders (Scottish Executive, 2002a). A Youth Court Feasibility Group subsequently set up by the Scottish Executive concluded that the establishment of a pilot Youth Court was feasible under existing primary legislation (Scottish Executive, 2002b).

1.2 A pilot Youth Court was introduced in Hamilton Sheriff Court in June 2003. It was targeted at alleged offenders aged 16 and 17 years (and appropriate 15 year olds) who were resident in parts of North or South Lanarkshire served by Hamilton Sheriff Court, who had at least 3 separate incidents of alleged offending that had resulted in criminal charges in the previous 6 months and who were appearing summarily before Hamilton Sheriff Court ('persistency criterion'). There was also flexibility for cases to be prosecuted in the Youth Court where the young person's contextual background and circumstances suggested that a referral to the Youth Court would be appropriate in terms of enhancing community safety and reducing the risk of re-offending ('contextual criterion') (Hamilton Sheriff Youth Court, 2003).

1.3 A second pilot Youth Court was introduced at Airdrie Sheriff Court in June 2004. The referral criteria included, potentially, any 16 and 17 year olds (and appropriate 15 year olds) who were charged by the police and not just those who were deemed 'persistent offenders' ¹. The pilot courts serve neighbouring Sheriff Court districts in the Sheriffdom of South Strathclyde, and Dumfries and Galloway. Airdrie Sheriff Court covers the northern area of North Lanarkshire while Hamilton Sheriff Court serves the rest of North Lanarkshire and the northern part of South Lanarkshire. It was anticipated that the majority of young people appearing before the Airdrie Sheriff Youth Court would reside in North Lanarkshire, though those offending in the Airdrie Sheriff Court area and resident in South Lanarkshire were also eligible to appear. Although introduced as one of a number of measures aimed at responding more effectively to youth crime (including young people dealt with through the Children's Hearings System), the Youth Courts were intended for young people who would otherwise have been dealt with in the adult Sheriff Summary Court

1.4 The objectives of the pilot Youth Courts are to:

• reduce the frequency and seriousness of re-offending by 16 and 17 year old offenders (and some 15 year olds who are referred to the court) through targeted and prompt disposals with judicial supervision and continuing social work involvement;
• promote the social inclusion, citizenship and personal responsibility of these young offenders while maximising their potential;
• establish fast track procedures for those young persons appearing before the Youth Court;
• enhance community safety, by reducing the harm caused to individual victims of crime and providing respite to those communities which are experiencing high levels of crime; and
• assess the viability and usefulness of a Youth Court using existing legislation and to demonstrate whether legislative and practical improvements might be appropriate.

OPERATION OF THE YOUTH COURTS

1.5 A distinguishing feature of the Youth Court pilots is the operation of fast-track processes that aim to ensure that young offenders are brought to court quickly. The police report all cases involving 16 and 17 year olds (including co-accused) and appropriate young people under 16 years of age to the designated Youth Court Procurators Fiscal. The marking depute Procurators Fiscal then sift potentially eligible cases in consultation, where appropriate, with the police, the Reporter and the social work department. The criteria for referral to the Youth Court are slightly different since in Airdrie they may include any 16 and 17 year olds (and appropriate 15 year olds) who are charged by the police and not just those who are deemed 'persistent offenders' ². As we shall see, however, in practice the approach of Procurators Fiscal to the marking of cases for the Youth Courts was similar in the 2 pilot areas.

1.6 In Hamilton, it was intended that young people who are suitable for the Youth Court should appear before it for the first time within 10 (and exceptionally 14) days by means of custody or an undertaking to appear in court. In report cases (for both Hamilton and Airdrie), the police had 28 days to submit the case with the PF having a further 14 days to cite the accused. In Airdrie, Youth Court accused should normally make their first appearance in court within 14 days from custody or on an undertaking. In both courts, where it was practical to do so, all known outstanding and other charges would be rolled up and taken together.

1.7 During the first 2 years of the pilot, the Hamilton Youth Court sat daily, presided over by 4 of the 9 Sheriffs from the Hamilton bench ³. However since September 2005 all of the 9 Sheriffs preside over the Youth Court which now sits for 3 rather than 5 days per week. In Airdrie, the Youth Court sits for one day per week (a Friday) with each of the 4 Airdrie Sheriffs presiding over it on a rotating basis. The Sheriffs sentence young people who appear in the Youth Court and may seek to review orders made in the Youth Court on a regular basis when it is competent to do so ⁴. The Youth Courts have the same range and powers of sentence as the Sheriff Summary Court. Community supervision orders available to the Youth Court include probation, community service orders, restriction of liberty orders, drug treatment and testing orders and deferred sentences (structured and other). These orders can be imposed singly or in any competent combination.

1.8 A full-time Co-ordinator and Deputy Co-coordinator were appointed to co-ordinate practice across the relevant agencies. The role of Youth Court Co-ordinator - seconded from Strathclyde Police - entails overseeing the operation of the Youth Court and ensuring that processes and procedures are operating smoothly. With the development of the Airdrie Youth Court, the post of Deputy Co-ordinator was created and both posts were extended to both Hamilton and Airdrie Youth Courts. Whilst no additional shrieval resources were been invested in the Youth Court, additional dedicated resources included a Sheriff Clerk and 2 Procurators Fiscal in both Airdrie and Hamilton.

1.9 The sentences available to the Youth Courts are identical to those available to the Sheriff Summary Court. However the resources available to the Youth Courts are specifically designed for this younger group of offenders and Sheriffs may stipulate access to them as a condition of a probation order or structured deferred sentence. They include a broader and more intensive range of community programmes, services that can tackle the social and personal problems which might lead these young people to re-offend and enhanced intervention programmes specifically targeted at the young offender age group. Services are provided by the local authority and by specialist programme providers from the voluntary sector who are contracted by the local authority to provide a range of individual and groupwork opportunities. Orders made in the Youth Court are supervised by the local social work departments which are also responsible for providing reports to the court. Failure to comply with community supervision orders imposed by the Youth Court will be dealt with by means of a fast track breach process.

1.10 The organisation of services differs in the 2 local authorities served by the Hamilton Youth Court (North and South Lanarkshire). In South Lanarkshire, a dedicated youth justice team is based in Blantyre and provides a service to the Youth Court as well as a youth justice service to the local area teams. In North Lanarkshire, dedicated Youth Court social workers are located throughout the authority's area teams ⁵. A centralised service that provides a range of individual and groupwork programmes and placement coach support for young people, including those made subject to orders by the Youth Courts in Hamilton and Airdrie, began operating in May 2005. The Airdrie Youth Court is serviced by multi-disciplinary local authority youth justice teams in North Lanarkshire, by the centralised team and by specialist Youth Court social workers.

1.11 In addition to judicial oversight, supervision by multi-disciplinary teams and the availability of a range of additional programmes, other distinguishing features of the Youth Courts include:

• fast tracking of young people to and through the court and fast track breach procedures;
• ability to electronically monitor as a condition of bail;
• dedicated staff to support and service the Youth Court (Procurators Fiscal, clerk, social work)
• additional resources across agencies to enable provision of a consistent, high quality service;
• the formation of a multi-agency Youth Court Implementation Groups in each pilot area, chaired by a Sheriff, to review the working and operation of the court;
• appointment of a Youth Court Co-ordinator and Deputy Co-ordinator to service the forum and co-ordinate practice;
• external research and evaluation of the Youth Courts' operation and programmes.

1.12 Many of the procedures, agencies and personnel are similar in the 2 pilot courts. However there are some organisational differences between the 2 pilot sites, which reflect the size of the sheriff courts and anticipated volume of Youth Court cases and target timescales for processing cases take account of this.

EVALUATION OF THE PILOTS

1.13 A team of researchers from the University of Stirling, the University of Strathclyde and TNS Social were commissioned by the Scottish Executive to undertake an independent evaluation of the pilot Youth Courts. The aims of the evaluation were to:

• assess the advantages and disadvantages of the Youth Court model over existing arrangements for dealing with the target group through other summary courts;
• determine the effectiveness of the Youth Courts in relation to process, delivery, outcome and costs;
• assess the overall effectiveness of the Youth Courts in achieving its stated objectives; and
• explore the longer-term viability of Youth Courts across Scotland.

1.14 The evaluation of both courts was conducted in 3 phases. The first phase aimed to establish an appropriate baseline against which the impact of the Youth Court within the pilot area could be evaluated. It consisted of an audit of existing provision, the collection of baseline statistical data and, in Hamilton only, a survey of experiences and attitudes to youth crime in the areas serviced by the pilot ⁶. The second phase comprised a formative/process study of the early operation of the pilot Youth Courts. The final phase of the evaluation examined the influence of the Youth Court on sentencing practice, and its effectiveness in reducing offending and related problems and in promoting the social inclusion of young people and generated additional information about Youth Court processes. Because the 2 pilot sites were introduced 12 months apart, they were evaluated separately though similar methods were employed, adapted as appropriate to local circumstances.

ORGANISATION OF THE REPORT

1.15 To reflect the different timescales during which the pilot Youth Courts have been in operation, their evaluations have been presented in separate reports. This report draws together the main findings from the 2 separate evaluations of the Hamilton and Airdrie Youth Courts, enabling some comparison of the processes and arrangements employed. Chapter 2 describes the methods used in the evaluation while the findings are presented in the subsequent 3 chapters. Chapter 3 describes the process of referral to the Youth Court, the criteria employed in identifying potential suitable cases and the characteristics of young people referred. Chapter 4 focuses upon the progress of cases through the Youth Court (including the associated timescales), the sentences imposed, services provided and review of Youth Court orders. In Chapter 5 Youth Court outcomes are considered including changes in sentencing and recorded crime, professional perspectives on its effectiveness, recidivism among young people sentenced in the Airdrie Youth Court and in comparator courts serving similar populations and Youth Court costs. The main findings and their implications are discussed in Chapter 6.

« Previous | Contents | Next »