Young murderers and rapists could dodge jail under soft-touch SNP
Alarm over plans to offer ‘secure care’ instead
YOUNG criminals including murderers and rapists could avoid jail under SNP soft-touch justice plans.
Proposals for a Child (Care and Justice) Scotland Bill would prevent any child under 18 being put behind bars in a young offender institution or prison – no matter how serious their offence.
Instead they would be placed in ‘secure care’, where they would receive ‘support and education’.
Concerns about the Bill were raised after the case of Sean Hogg, who was last week given just 270 hours of community service for raping a 13-year-old girl in Dalkeith Country Park, Midlothian.
He avoided prison after a judge deemed him to be a first offender, despite Hogg assaulting the victim repeatedly in the months leading up to the rape in 2018, when he was 17 years old.
Fears have been raised that the plans – put forward by Humza Yousaf’s new Social Justice Secretary, Shirley Anne Somerville – could make cases such as Hogg’s more commonplace.
Last night Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Jamie Greene said: ‘The public, who have rightly been outraged at a rapist avoiding a jail sentence, will also be concerned at these latest SNP justice proposals.
‘For the most dangerous young criminals – like Aaron Campbell and Luke Mitchell – the Scottish
Conservatives believe a prison sentence remains the most appropriate form of punishment.’
The proposed law would extend the use of the Children’s Hearings system to older teenagers up to the age of 18, meaning those who are detained will not face prison – despite there already being guidance that for those found guilty who are under the age of 25 there should be a presumption against receiving custodial sentences.
At a meeting of the criminal justice committee last week at which the legislation was discussed, Victim Support Scotland raised concerns about the impact it would have on victims of child offenders.
Its chief executive Kate Wallace told MSPs: ‘The reality is that people who have been harmed by children or young people are not entitled to the same information as if an adult had harmed them, as there is no victim notification scheme in place ... Because there is no victim notification scheme, victims who have been subjected to a serious sexual assault are not told when someone is being released from secure accommodation, which therefore means they cannot effectively plan for their own safety.’
But addressing the same committee, Linda Allan, the mother of a 21-year-old woman who took her own life in a young offender institution, favoured the change, saying: ‘Young people should not be dying in prison.’
Reacting to the Hogg case, Scottish Labour justice spokesman Pauline McNeill said it was ‘wrong that someone who commits such a vile crime is not seriously considered for a custodial sentence’.
Last night the Scottish Government said: ‘A young adult of 18 or over can be imprisoned, as now, in a young offender institution or prison. Below the age of 18, all detention will be in secure care – the most intensive and restrictive form of care in Scotland.
‘A young person placed there is deprived of their liberty in a locked environment, and also receives care, support and education.’
‘Victims not told when someone is released’