By Stefan Morkis

SCOTLAND’S YOUTH justice system was thrown into disarray by the introduction of ASBOs for under-16s—and is still failing to use its resources effectively, according to a report published by Audit Scotland today.

It highlights several concerns about the children’s hearing system raised daily by The Courier over recent weeks.

It states the Scottish Executive has failed to meets its own target of reducing the number of persistent young offenders by 10% by March last year and that a rise in the number of referrals has put increased pressure on the children’s hearing system.

In one of its most damning criticisms, the report, Dealing With Offending by Young People, questions whether Executive ministers considered how the introduction of anti-social behaviour orders would affect the Children’s Hearing system.

Between October 2004 and March 2006, 98 cases in Scotland were considered for ASBOs, but only four were actually granted.

The report states, “Most councils have found it difficult, both strategically and operationally, to overcome the differences between the child-centred focus of youth justice under the children’s hearing system and the community-focused design of the anti-social behaviour legislation.”

The report also says social work departments are taking too long to provide case reports to the Children’s Panel—with less than half of social work reports submitted to the Children’s Reporter within the target of 20 working days. More social workers have been recruited but often there is not enough support or guidance on offer for them.

While acknowledging there have been positive changes in youth justice processes in recent years, the report says it is not possible to demonstrate that resources are being used effectively or value for money is being achieved.

Robert Black, Auditor General for Scotland, said, “Youth justice is a complex area.

“It is encouraging that recent initiatives have resulted in some improvements, for example quicker reports from the police, faster decision making by the children’s reporter service and better partnership working by the various agencies.

“The Executive has given a commitment to develop new measures that give a broader picture of the behaviour of young people. This should be welcomed. Effective performance measures would make it easier to direct resources where they will have the greatest impact.”

Executive spending on youth justice services has risen from £235 million in 2000/01 to £336 million in 2005/06.

The Executive has introduced national standards and targets for services and provided practical support and guidance for local authorities, but the Audit Scotland report says further improvements must be made.

The report says stronger emphasis is required on prevention and early intervention to reduce offending levels and cited the Dundee Pre-Referral Screening Group, involving Tayside Police, Dundee City Council and other agencies, as an example of good inter-agency practice.

The group meets weekly to consider cases of children already warned by police over their behaviour and can provide direct access to services designed to address anti-social behaviour.

Accounts Commission chairman Alastair MacNish said, “Local authorities have a key role in youth justice but they have to balance a child-centred approach with looking after their community’s concerns about offending by young people.

“They put substantial effort into youth justice services and it is pleasing to hear they are generally working very well with other agencies. Progress has been made in social work services but assessment and case management practices still need to improve, as does timeliness of social work reporting.”

Commenting on the report, an Executive spokes- man said, “The vast majority of our young people are not offenders and certainly not persistent offenders—they are well behaved. But we can’t let the small minority give everyone a bad name. That’s why this Government is taking action to address youth crime.

“Community safety minister Fergus Ewing has already announced that we will bring in a new system to give a more rounded picture of young people’s behaviour. We welcome Audit Scotland’s support for that.

“The new system will not simply count instances of a young person being referred five or more times, it will consider changes in the volume, frequency and seriousness of offending. That’s what the public are really interested in.

“It will help local teams use the information to reduce youth offending and enable them to focus more on early intervention and prevention. The Government is also committed to rewarding good behaviour reinvesting the proceeds of crime to increase opportunities for participation by young people in sporting and cultural activities.”

Dundee administration leader Councillor Kevin Keenan said, “One of our main priorities is to help make Dundee a safer city and we are achieving this by working in partnership with other agencies. We are pleased our multi-agency efforts have been highlighted in the Audit Scotland report. We believe our approach of coordinated inter-agency work is an efficient and effective model.

“That work in Dundee is being shown as an example of good practice reflects the positive way problems are being tackled.”

Social work convener Councillor Helen Wright added, “Dundee has a successful track record dealing with youth crime. Our initiatives have helped us deliver on Executive targets for reducing persistent offending by 17% and offence referrals to the Reporter by 40% since the new screening process with Tayside Police.

“The arrangements mean child offenders can be dealt with faster, giving a quicker start to addressing offending behaviour and related issues such as parenting.”