youth justice

Crime and Disorder Act 1998

This legislation sets out procedures for the prevention of crime and disorder with reference to: anti-social behaviour orders and youth crime; criminal law and racially aggravated offences; the criminal justice system and youth justice; dealing with offenders, specifically sexual offenders, those dependent on drugs and young offenders. Further procedure is laid out in respect of the detention, release and recall of prisoners and increased powers of arrest by the police.

Improving the lives of children in Scotland - are we there yet?: consultation on the Scottish Government's response to the 2008 concluding observations from the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child

Consultation document seeking views on the draft Scottish Government response to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child's 'concluding observations' on the UK's record on ensuring the rights of all children.

Children: innocent until proven guilty: a report on the overuse of remand for children in England and Wales and how it can be addressed

In the last seven years the number of children locked up on remand has increased by 41%. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child says that imprisonment should only be used as a measure of last resort. This report on the overuse of remand for children is based on information gathered from a number of sources: interviews with senior practitioners and sentencers; a literature review of research and statistics; a survey of bail and remand officers; a national seminar. It discusses why the problem has arisen and presents a series of twelve policy and practice solutions.

National standards for Scotland's youth justice services

This report by the Improving the Effectiveness of the Youth Justice System Working Group describes the characteristics of effective local management of youth justice services and outlines a set of standards to improve delivery.

The group was asked to develop a strategic framework of national objectives and standards for Scotland’s Youth Justice services, to help achieve the national target of reducing the number of persistent offenders by 10% by 2006.