Copy of consultation letter issued on 24 December 1999
At its first strategy session in November 1999, the Scottish Cabinet focused on issues relating to youth crime in Scotland. As a result of its considerations, a Review of Youth Crime is currently being undertaken. An Advisory Group has been established under my Chairmanship. We aim to report to the Minister for Children and Education by the end of February 2000.
The remit of the Advisory Group is to oversee the work of the Review into youth crime and the disposals available to Children’s Hearings and the Courts in respect of persistent young offenders. The composition of the Advisory Group is as attached. The Group has already met and will be meeting again in January, February and March 2000. Rachel Burn, a Children’s Reporter with the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration, has been seconded to support the work of the Advisory Group.
The priority task of the Review is to consider the scope for improving the range and availability of options aimed at addressing the actions of persistent young offenders – that is, those children and young people whose offending behaviour is more than occasional or transitory – within the Children’s Hearings system and the Courts. The Group will also take account of the range of preventative measures and early intervention currently available or planned which can help prevent or reduce offending in the longer term.
In order to take forward the work of the Review, a consultation exercise is being undertaken with the following objectives:
The Group is particularly interested in receiving information about evaluated and costed initiatives which focus on what have been shown to be effective methods of intervention – for instance, cognitive behavioural projects, social skills training, aggression reduction/anger management techniques and diversion strategies including aspects of mediation and reparation – or which take account of known risk factors in order to target high risk offenders. You may find the attached short paper helpful. It summarises known findings on what predisposes young people to offend, what works best in dealing with young offenders and the cost-effectiveness of preventative interventions.
I am writing to invite you to submit responses to the attached consultation paper by 4 February 2000 so that information can be collated and circulated in advance of the meeting of the Advisory Group on 21 February 2000. I appreciate that this is a tight deadline but we are anxious to hear from you.
Should you wish to make further submissions to the Review in relation to effective preventative measures, please send these on separate sheets with your response. If you have any questions about the work of the Review or require any further information, please contact Rachel Burn, Scottish Executive Education Department, Room 26c James Craig Walk, Edinburgh (0131 244 3499 or e-mail Rachel.Burn@scotland.gov.uk)
Responses may be e-mailed to youth.crimereview@scotland.gov.uk or sent to Rachel Burn at the above address. A website providing details of the consultation document is also being established at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/youth/crimereview.
Any response you make will be made available to members of the public unless you specifically request for it to be confidential. However, confidential responses will be included in any statistical summary of numbers of comments received and views expressed.
Yours sincerely
<< signed >>GILLIAN M STEWART
Head of Children and Young People Group
James Craig Walk
Edinburgh EH1 3BA
Telephone: 0131-244 3670
Fax: 0131-244 3502
Gillian.stewart@scotland.gov.uk
Summary paper
Membership of Advisory Group
List of Consultees
Consultation paper for Children
and Young People
Questions for response
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