£220k to tackle young offenders

Pilot project gets council approval

Young offenders in Hamilton could be dealt with using a new pilot project to help them stay out of custody.

South Lanarkshire Council is set to introduce a structured deferred sentence project for 16 to 21-yearolds.

Councillors on an executive committee gave the green light for the model at a meeting last week.

It is hoped that the move will help reduce reoffending and the use of custody in South Lanarkshire, which has a higher proportion of offenders in Polmont than other local authority areas.

A report to councillors read: “Many young people appearing before the adult courts struggle to comply with statutory orders, resulting in breach of orders and young people being placed in custody.

“South Lanarkshire justice services have been exploring options to introduce earlier intervention and increase partnership working in order to reduce reoffending and the use of custody for people aged 16-21 years.”

A structured deferred sentence will see decisions in a sentence deferred for three to 12 months.

During that period, an intensive social work intervention is carried out in order to address specific issues that relate to the offending.

Once the deferment period ends, a court will still have the full range of sentencing options open to it, but if the intervention has been successful, this will be reflected in the final sentence, and admonition is then an option.

The council has received £219,999 from the Scottish Government to improve outcomes for young offenders.

The pilot will be used first at the youth sentencing court based in Hamilton.

Three temporary social work posts will be created for the next 18 months, with the costs being met by the Scottish Government grant.

Current disposals open to courts for young offenders are: absolute discharge, admonition, remittal to a children’s hearing, community payback order, financial penalty, custodial sentence.