Prior to the recession, a long period of economic growth and high levels of public spending should have given all our young people opportunities their parents could only have dreamt of but this hasn’t come to be. Instead, a significant minority of young people in Scotland are still ending up in the justice system. With overcrowding in prisons already a major problem, not to mention the need to break the cycle and encourage more positive life paths for our young people, radical measures are needed to help teenagers address their offending behaviour and stop them committing more serious crimes in the future.
Read more... |
Key Statistics
- Even before the recession around 15 per cent of Scots between 16 and 19 were not in school, training or employment
- 21 per cent of persistent offenders were in residential care, according to findings in 2005
- The number of children looked after by local authorities is at its highest level since the early 1980s, according to Scottish Government figures
|
Keynote speakers
Damian's Law Campaigner
Assistant General Secretary, National Association of Probation Officers
Governor, HM Young Offenders Institution Polmont
Violence Reduction Unit of Scotland
Director of Practice and Performance, Youth Justice Board England & Wales