Conference launch for Scotland’s new youth justice strategy

Scotland’s new strategy to prevent children and young people from offending has been announced by Justice Secretary Michael Matheson as latest figures show the number of under 18s in custody has reduced by 70%.

Opening this year’s Annual National Youth Justice Conference, the Cabinet Secretary paid tribute to huge falls in youth crime and the work of agencies across the country, saying that the time was right to build on the success through a new strategy for Scotland.

Around 200 youth justice practitioners were in attendance at the launch of the two-day long event which will also feature leading professionals discussing current issues in the field.

‘Preventing offending: getting it right for children and young people’ builds on recent progress made in the youth justice sector and sets out three main priorities to take forward.

These include advancing the Whole System Approach which ensures young people receive the right help at the right time, improving life chances for young people and developing capacity and improvement throughout the youth justice sector.

The announcement coincides with the publication of a new independent evaluation of the Whole System Approach which has been in place since 2011. The approach provides a clear focus on early and effective intervention and diversion as well as appropriate support to improve outcomes for children and young people involved in offending.

Speaking at the Conference yesterday Mr Matheson said: “We have already seen dramatic and positive changes in the youth justice sector since our decisive shift towards prevention in 2008 and on a recent visit to Polmont YOI I was extremely encouraged to learn that the population there has more than halved since 2007.

“The number of under 18s in custody has reduced by 70%, there has been an 83% reduction in the number of children referred to the Children’s Hearings System on offence grounds and there has been a 74% reduction in children appearing in court over the last seven years.

“These are significant achievements which have also made a major contribution to overall crime reductions in Scotland with recorded crime currently at a 40 year low.

“We are not complacent though and the new youth justice strategy launched today will continue to prioritise preventative approaches which confront offending in a constructive way – using an evidence-led, child-centred approach.

“I’ve seen various justice policies over the years labelled ‘tough’ or ‘soft’ but I think the time is right to move away from those kinds of descriptions. What we are doing in Scotland today – and will continue to do – is adopting ‘smart’ approaches, based firmly on evidence.

“If we are to stop young people going down the wrong path in life and into a life of crime we need to be smart in our response – ensuring timely, appropriate and effective interventions so that we can address offending behaviour at the outset and keep our communities and children safe from crime.

“Today’s independent evaluation of the Whole System Approach is very positive and confirms the tactics we have in place are the right ones.

“The report makes clear that our approach has been a major factor in enabling partnership working, information sharing and shared learning across youth justice agencies offering an all-inclusive service for young people at risk of offending.

“Scotland already has a proud record of taking an evidence-based approach to the needs of children and young people as part of our Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) program. By keeping this method at the heart of youth justice we can continue to reduce crime, improve life chances and make good use of public resources.

“Preventing offending is integral to GIRFEC and I look forward to playing my part in helping to ensure Scotland is the best and safest place to grow up.”

Stakeholder comments on the new youth justice strategy ‘Preventing offending: getting it right for children and young people’ can be found attached.