Scottish Children’s Reporter report fall in referrals

The number of children being referred to the Children’s Reporter for criminal offences has fallen by almost a fifth, according to new figures.

There has also been a decrease, for the fourth consecutive year, in the number of children and young people being referred overall.

According to figures released by the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA), 39,217 children received referrals in 2010/11 compared to 42,532 in 2009/10 – a reduction of 7.8%.

Compared to the previous year, referrals on offence grounds fell by 18.8% and those referred on care and protection grounds fell by 5.7%.

The vast majority continue to be referred because of concerns about their welfare, with 33,710 cases related to care and protection issues, while 8,126 were due to offences. Some cases involved children being referred on both offence and care grounds.

Children are referred from a number of sources, including police, social work, schools and the NHS. If intervention is needed, a Children’s Hearing is held.

Neil Hunter, principal reporter for the SCRA, said: “Our priority is to ensure that children and young people who require compulsory measures of supervision come to the attention of the Reporter, so we can make a decision which will ensure they get the help and support they need to improve their lives.

“Over the last few years, there has been some excellent co-operation and partnership working to ensure that children who do not require compulsory measures of supervision, receive earlier and effective intervention from our partners elsewhere in the children’s services arena.

“Whilst we welcome this, there continues to be a significant number of children and young people who require compulsory measures of intervention in their lives – this equates to 1.5% of all children in Scotland.

“In addition, more than 4% of the Scottish child population was referred to the Reporter last year and the vast majority were referred because of concerns about their welfare. This reiterates the need for more collaborative working and a continued joined-up focus on supporting and protecting Scotland’s children.”