A Bill which would see most 16 and 17 year olds in Scotland referred to the Children’s Hearing System, rather than the adult justice system, could help address underlying issues and stop young people from reoffending.
A Bill which would see most 16 and 17 year olds in Scotland referred to the Children’s Hearing System, rather than the adult justice system, could help address underlying issues and stop young people from reoffending.
Stakeholders told the Committee they were broadly in favour of the changes the Bill would introduce, which include raising the age at which a young person can be referred to the Children’s Hearing System to 18.
This change would lead to more young people being referred to the Children’s Hearing System. To account for this, the Committee is urging the Scottish Government to work with Children’s Hearings Scotland to set clear targets and timescales to recruit and train more of the panel members who make legal decisions with and for children and young people.
The Committee also expressed concern that the Bill effectively establishes the age of 17-and-a-half as the cut-off date for referrals to the Children’s Hearing System. The Committee believes that this is not in the spirit of the Bill and needs to be addressed.
The Bill will still allow for a young person’s offending to be handled by the adult justice system for the most serious crimes and where it is assessed to be in the public interest to prosecute. The Committee supported this, but has called on the Scottish Government to ensure safeguards and measures are put in place to help young people better understand and participate in proceedings, whether they are attending a Children’s Hearing or a court.