What is helping?
Since 2011, the Scottish Government's Whole System Approach (WSA) has aimed to keep children out of the criminal justice system whenever possible, including those in Young Offenders’ Institutions (YOIs). The WSA emphasises prevention, early intervention and diversion, using non-compulsory interventions and secure accommodation rather than YOIs for necessary detentions. The policy remains unchanged with the Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Act meaning no under-18s will be detained in YOIs in the future, with small, trauma-informed, child-friendly secure accommodation used instead.
The Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility (Scotland) Act was passed in 2019 and fully commenced in December 2021, meaning children under the age of 12 cannot be charged or arrested. An Advisory Group was established to support the review of implementation of the Act and the review period is coming to its final year.
In 2022, the Prison Reform Trust co-created the "This is Me": A Child Impact Assessment toolkit with children of incarcerated parents. The toolkit aims to ensure children's voices are heard and they receive early support by providing a framework for practitioners to understand their unique circumstances. Involving children in decisions affecting them can reduce the negative impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) on their health and wellbeing.
The Bairns’ Hoose Pathfinder Phase, initiated in October 2023, involves six Pathfinder partnerships and four Affiliate partnerships. The aim is to test, and develop further understanding of, the effectiveness of the Scottish Bairns’ Hoose Standards, applied in different contexts, to inform the building of a national model. The Pathfinder’s focus is on testing the Standards, identifying challenges and gathering knowledge for implementation using both quantitative performance indicators and qualitative research.
The Scottish Child Interview Model (SCIM) for Joint Investigative Interviews (JIIs) is being nationally rolled out as part of the Bairns' Hoose Pathfinder Phase. The goal is to ensure JII statements are of such high quality they can be used as Evidence in Chief. This effort is part of broader improvements aimed at eliminating the need for child victims and witnesses to testify in court, thereby reducing the risk of further trauma.
Funding for the National SCIM JII Training Team is secured until March 2025. A number of Local Authorities, Policing Divisions and Health Boards are practicing the SCIM model, often through collaborative partnerships, with plans for full implementation across Scotland by the end of 2024.
National roll out of the Bairns Hoose model has been extended to 2028, and the Pathfinder programme will run 2023-2025.
The Advancing Whole System Approach Implementation Group (WSA) and the Children’s Rights Implementation Group (CRIG) collaborated on a Youth Court Blueprint published in November 2023. This blueprint, based on feedback from children and young people, aims to help Local Authorities and partner agencies set up Youth Courts, ensuring compliance with the UNCRC and the promise. It serves as a non-prescriptive guide to encourage consistency across Scotland while allowing for local adaptation.
Work to ensure there are appropriate, trauma-informed Places of Safety, and to ensure there are alternatives to the use of Police Custody, is ongoing. The London Road Police Office pilot aims to create and learn from a custody facility that reduces stress and anxiety by allowing access to partner agencies and adopting a trauma-informed approach. A national event hosted by Social Work Scotland and CYCJ in November 2023, brought together professionals from across the justice and care sectors to share learning and build understanding of what more needs to be done.
The Children Care and Justice (Scotland) Act 2024 will implement key aspects of the promise. It will:
- Enable all children under the age of 18 to be referred to the Principal Reporter.
- Enhance the rights of children in the criminal justice system, most notably, removing the ability for children to be remanded or sentenced to detention in Young Offenders Institutions or prisons, and instead, where a child is to be deprived of their liberty, this should normally be in secure accommodation.
- Ensure all children who require secure accommodation can access it, and that all children who need it remain in age and stage appropriate therapeutic environments where they can benefit from intensive care and support.
The Scottish Government's position is that cross-border placements should only occur in exceptional circumstances where the placement is in the best interests of an individual child. Provisions in the Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Act 2024 will also direct new care service providers to tailor proposed provision to Scotland's particular needs, and will extend the Care Inspectorate's role in relation to the registration, regulation and oversight of care settings.
The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) is creating three new Evidence by Commissioner (EBC) suites in 2024-25, including two new, trauma-informed, witness live link rooms, where evidence can be pre-recorded to reduce the risk of re-traumatisation. This means there will be country-wide provision of EBC suites by April 2026. As part of the SCTS 2024-25 Business Plan, all staff are undergoing trauma-informed practice training to better understand the impact of trauma and provide appropriate support during Court processes.
Tools such as the Standards Self-Assessment and Readiness Tool (StART) have been created to help evaluate organisational readiness and target support, while qualitative research provides deeper insights into the Pathfinder areas' progress.
The Scottish Prison Service's Mother & Baby policy aims to support the wellbeing of babies with incarcerated mothers through a collaborative approach. The revised policy will offer tailored support for women in custody, including assistance for mothers and infants, informed by feedback from staff and mothers with prior or current custody experience.
Recommendation 3.7 from Hearings for Children states specialist training must be provided to all workers involved in any aspect of the Children’s Hearings System so they know, and can help children access and understand, their rights, the children’s hearings system and how that interacts with the criminal justice system. Some of this has already started, with a wider range of activity underway either in place or planned.
