Videos released to explain process behind sentencing young people

Three new videos on sentencing young people have been released to explain the process to the general public.

The Scottish Sentencing Council has published three short animated videos about guidelines for sentencing people under the age of 25.

Each video will look at the guidelines’ key themes: the importance of maturity in relation to the assessment of a young person’s culpability for an offence; why rehabilitation is a primary consideration in sentencing; and the need to treat each young person on an individual basis.

The guidelines are informed by evidence such as how much the brain develops and what contributes to offending by young people.

Sheriff Principal Craig Turnbull, a judicial member of the council and chairman of its Sentencing Young People Committee, said: “We felt that a series of animated videos would be an effective way to explain these matters to a general audience in a straightforward and visually interesting way.

“We hope that the videos will help to raise awareness and understanding of the guideline and the issues it addresses.

“The council is particularly keen for them to be seen and shared by young people in secondary schools and other educational establishments, and developed them with that audience in mind.”

The new guidelines came into place in January 2022.