Push to avoid placing under-18s in young offender institutions

The Scottish Government is seeking to stop people under the age of 18 being placed in young offender institutions (YOIs) with a new Bill.

The Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Bill will make changes to existing law so only those aged between 18 and 21 will be placed in YOIs, either as a result of being on remand or after conviction.

Instead, children under the age of 18 will be placed in secure accommodation if they are on remand or have been found guilty of a crime.

The Bill would also increase the maximum age for children being referred to the children’s reporter from 16 to 18 in a bid to keep young people out of criminal courts.

Children’s minister Clare Haughey said: “The Bill’s main purpose is to ensure that children up to age 18 who come into contact with care or justice services are dealt with in age-appropriate systems and settings.

“Where children are in conflict with the law, providing the best support to address the causes of their behaviours will help them to reintegrate, rehabilitate and desist from those behaviours.

“This, in turn, can prevent further harm being caused. The benefits are felt by everyone involved – the child themselves, their family, the person harmed and, ultimately, the wider community.

“Scotland’s whole-system approach to youth justice has already contributed to significant positive change.

“Between 2008-09 and 2019-20, there was an 85% reduction in the number of children and young people prosecuted in Scotland’s courts and a 93% reduction in 16 and 17-year-olds being sentenced to custody.

“As of December 2, there were only two children in young offender institutions in Scotland, compared with an average of 16 in 2021-22. This Bill aims to build on this progress.

“This legislation will also help to Keep The Promise to act on the recommendations of the independent care review, which called for reforms on how children and families are treated both in Scotland’s care system and justice system.”

Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Jamie Greene said the Bill will “do nothing” to tackle delays in the justice system.

“Many young people have been held inappropriately on remand due to the SNP’s failure to address the backlogs in our justice system,” he said.

“The public will also be concerned as to what these plans will mean in relation to the most serious crimes that young people have committed.

“For murderers like Aaron Campbell and Luke Mitchell, then the Scottish Conservatives believe that prison continues to be the most appropriate punishment for them.

“This Bill shows the skewed priorities of the SNP when it comes to Scotland’s justice system. The Justice Secretary should be focused instead on finally taking measures that will tackle backlogs once and for all.”