CHILDREN

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• CHILDRENS HEARING SYSTEM

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CHILDRENS HEARINGSNeed to know

• Why a child may appear before a hearing
• How the hearings system works
• Actions that can be taken
• Strengths and criticisms of hearings
• Why young people offend
• - Youth Hearings
• - Young Offenders Institutions
• How to keep young people out of trouble

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Unique

• Scotland has a unique Children's Hearing System
  which is different from juvenile justice systems
  elsewhere in the UK and the world.
• In Scotland, children (those under the age of
  16) are only considered for prosecution in court
  for serious offences such as murder, assault
  which puts a life in danger or serious road
  traffic offences which can lead to
  disqualification from driving.

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Think
WHY MAY A CHILD BE REFERRED?
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WHY A CHILD MAY BE REFERRED

• Beyond the control of their parent/guardian
• Exposed to moral danger
• Victim of an offence e.g. abuse
• Neglect from parents
• Involved in drug or alcohol abuse
• Has committed an offence/broken the law
• Failure to attend school

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HOW CHILDRENS HEARING SYSTEM WORKS

• STEP 1
• Referral to the Childrens Reporter
• STEP 2
• Initial investigation is carried out
• - 3 possible outcomes
• STEP 3
• Referred to a hearing in front of the Childrens
  Panel
• - One of 3 decisions will then be made

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Who attends the Hearing?

• Use the handout to write a short summary of the
  key people at a childrens hearing.
• The Childrens Reporter
• The Childrens Panel Member
• A social worker
• The Education Staff
• Safeguarder
• Representative
• Sheriff

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At the Hearing...
The purpose of the hearing is to decide on the
measures of care which are in the best interests
of the child.

• The people who sit on Childrens Hearings are
  known as the Childrens Panel. They are
  volunteers and come from a wide range of
  occupations and backgrounds. All have experience
  of and an interest in children. Members are
  trained for their work with the Childrens Panel,
  and over the whole country there are around 2000
  panel members.

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STRENGTHS OF THE SYSTEM

• The focus is on helping the child by providing
  care, protection and rehabilitation , rather than
  on the law and punishing them.
• Can prevent the child from becoming criminal in
  later life.
• Provides safety and supervision where it is
  needed for the child.

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CRITICISMS OF THE SYSTEM

• 60 of cases are to do with the welfare and care
  of children which are better dealt with else
  where.
• Some see this as a soft way of dealing with
  criminal behaviour and it does not prevent crime
  in later life.
• There are a lot of changes in staff on the
  Childrens Panel and some children feel
  intimidated by having to appear in front of one.

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Childrens Hearings Scotland Recent ChangesJune
2013

• To try and combat some of the criticisms the role
  of National Convener was created. They will act
  as a figurehead for Scotlands 2,700 volunteer
  panel members.
• A national body was created, Childrens Hearings
  Scotland, to support the National Convener with
  the recruitment, selection, appointment,
  training, retention and support of panel members.

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RECAP

• Discuss the answers to the following questions
• with your partner get ready for questions!
• Why may a child be referred to a hearing?
• How does the hearings system work?
• What are the strengths criticisms of hearings?

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Case Study

• Read the Children's Hearings papers that you have
  been given.
• Decide who you think will attend the Children's
  Hearing. Each person in the group should then
  choose a role. (Remember that the group of three
  panel members has to be made up of both sexes.)
• In the role that you have chosen, prepare for the
  Children's Hearing
• the child/young person and family should think
  about what they want to tell the panel members
• the panel members should think about the issues
  that they would like to discuss and the questions
  they would like to ask
• any professionals should think about what they
  want to tell the panel members.
• Hold your Hearing in class. At the end, the panel
  members must decide which decision they will
  make.

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Think

• Why do young people offend?

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Youth Offenders

• In 2012, 74 of the referrals for boys were for
  alleged offences.
• The remainder of the referrals to SCRA are for
  reasons other than committing an offence.
• Boys feel obliged to live up to their reputation
  for aggression and to show that they can stick
  up for themselves.
• In cases of family breakup there is evidence to
  suggest that boys react with aggression,
  delinquency and crime, whereas girls are likely
  to react quietly.

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PROPOSALS FOR CHANGE

• The Scottish Prisons Commission has recommended
• YOUTH HEARINGS for 16 and 17 year olds.
• These would deal exclusively with criminal cases
• 16 and 17 year olds are old enough to account for
  their actions
• Focus on giving the appropriate punishment
• There would also be support to tackle the causes
  of crime and prevent youngsters from reoffending.

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Questions

• Give two reasons to explain why some people have
  criticised the Childrens Hearing System in
  Scotland.
• Describe in detail ways in which the Childrens
  panel deals with some of the problems faced by
  young people.

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Punishment

• Polmont is Scotland's national holding facility
  for Young Offenders aged between 16 - 21 years of
  age.
• The prison functions as a national resource,
  accommodating sentenced prisoners from all over
  the country.
• The contracted numbers are 760, with a maximum
  space for 830, making Polmont arguably the
  biggest Young Offenders Institution in Britain.
• Sentences range from 6 months to Life. The
  average sentence length is between 2 - 4 years.