Improving Scotland's Youth Justice System to Build Safer Communities

As an amendment to motion S1M-02520 in the name of Cathy Jamieson (Improving Scotland's Youth Justice System to Build Safer Communities), leave out from “the importance” to end and insert “that the children’s hearing system with the limited disposals currently available is impotent to deal with persistent and serious offenders; recognises the importance of early intervention measures, of youth work and of increased sports, leisure and educational opportunities in enabling all young people to fulfil their potential and to steering many young people at risk of offending away from a life of crime; welcomes the proposals to achieve these objectives including (a) mapping the coverage and effectiveness of community-based programmes to tackle persistent offending, (b) using the partnership opportunities provided by the multi-agency youth justice teams to develop more systematic early intervention measures and to improve the quality of information provided to the children’s hearing about the offending behaviour and how re-offending could be prevented and (c) identifying how restorative justice approaches can prevent the offender re-offending and build the confidence of victims in our youth justice system and increase the safety of communities, and further calls upon the Scottish Executive to review the powers of the children’s hearing system.”