Publications

Pilot Youth Courts were established at Hamilton Sheriff Court in June 2003 and at Airdrie Sheriff Court in June 2004.

The Youth Courts were evaluated, published in April 2006, revealing that the Youth Courts had been successful in meeting their objectives, as far as could be assessed at that time. The particular strengths of the Youth Court were noted as being the fast-tracking of young people to and through the court, the reduction in trials, the availability of a wider range of resources and services for young people and ongoing judicial review. It was too early at that stage to ascertain
whether the Youth Courts had had an impact on offending behaviour.

This review assesses the Youth Courts’ impact on reoffending rates, with regard to the impact on the Youth Courts of the recent reforms of summary justice. The current Administration announced in January 2008 that a decision would be made about any further Youth Courts in the light of this review.

This review has been conducted by the Community Justice Services Division of the Scottish Government. An analysis of reconviction data was also undertaken by SCCJR’s Gill McIvor.