Young offenders 'not supported'

Action is "imperative" to stop young people re-offending

Hundreds of youngsters under council supervision are not getting the support they need to stop them re-offending, according to a report.

The public spending watchdog, Audit Scotland, found that 15% of children were not receiving the services recommended for them by children's hearings.

In a further 10% of cases it was not possible to tell what service the youngsters were getting because of poor council record-keeping.

Alastair MacNish, chairman of the Accounts Commission, said it was "imperative" that councils, the police, and the Scottish Executive act to prevent further problems with children who re-offend.

He said: "We are pleased that most councils are giving children the help they need, but our report shows that up to 500 children are not being properly supported.

"Youngsters who offend are put on supervision because the children's hearings say that they need help and support.

"If they don't get that help and support, there is clearly a higher risk that they will offend again."

Youngsters left unsupported have a higher risk of re-offending

Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson pointed out that the majority of young people were getting the support they required.

But she said: "Clearly more work needs to be done and everyone involved in the system has to take responsibility for that.

"Whenever a children's hearing imposes a supervision order it is absolutely vital that the young person gets the support, the help and the service that they need.

"The problem at the moment is that it is patchy across Scotland."

Ms Jamieson said the executive had put in additional resources over the last two years.

"What I am going to do in the not too distant future is meet with the chief executives of local authorities, and we will also raise issues with the police," she said.

"There is nothing more frustrating for those involved in the system than identifying the young people and getting them through the hearing system only to discover later that they have not had the service they require."

Cathy Jamieson plans to meet with council chief executives

The report, "Dealing with offending by young people", is a follow-up to a study last year which criticised many aspects of the way young offenders under the age of 21 are dealt with through the justice system and the children's hearing system.

The new findings are based on a study of council records and interviews with police and council staff.

The report states: "Most children - an estimated 75% of the total - on statutory supervision for reasons which include offending appear to be receiving the required level of service from councils, but hundreds are not."

It estimates that between 300 and 500 children on supervision for reasons which include offending are not getting the service recommended by children's hearings.

That is in contrast to adults on probation, who nearly all receive the level of service prescribed by the courts.

Children in small council areas generally get the required level of support and this is also achieved by some of the bigger councils, such as Dundee, Falkirk, Fife and Renfrewshire.