Youth justice as an election issue in Scotland

The road to jail is paved with court restrictions

Jack McConnell's big idea to visit the sins of delinquent children on their parents as part of his blitz on youth crime seems to have survived coalition negotiations with the Lib Dems — but only just.

The proposals for tackling anti-social behaviour by under-16s still make it possible for a mother or father to be locked up for gross parental failure, but you would almost have to knock on the gates of Barlinnie and beg to be let in.

The apparent watering down of earlier plans will be welcomed by critics in the legal profession, who think the idea of locking up parents for the crimes of their children is unworkable, unnecessary and wrong in principle.

What the government now intends to do is introduce anti-social behaviour orders for under-16s which will be made through the civil courts on the application of a local authority.

As a last resort, and only after offers of guidance, support and counselling have been refused or ignored, courts will be given powers to make civil orders requring parents to act in the best interests of their children. No doubt with human rights considerations in mind, this order will be based on the parents' failures, rather than the child's.

If a children's hearing considers that a parent in fact hasfailed to act in a child's best interest, the reporter can go to court for a parental order and only after that stage would any further failure to act in a child's best interests be regarded as an offence.

Before any sentence can be imposed, the court has to take into account not just the interests of the child involved, but other children in the parent's care and the sentences provided for are a fine or community disposal - not jail.

Eventually, once all of these hoops have been jumped through it would, in theory, be possible for a parent to be jailed for defying the court by consistently refusing to pay the fine or carry out the community disposal.

Kathleen Marshall, visiting professor at Glasgow University's centre for the child and society, said yesterday: "There are already provisions which attach liability for parents in Scots law. Parents can be obliged to attend children's hearings if a child has committed an offence or if the child has been abandoned, neglected, or exposed to danger. They can also be held reponsible if their children fail to attend school without a reasonable excuse."

Alec Prentice, one of Edinburgh's most experienced defence lawyers, expressed sympathy with the problems of dealing with out-of-control children, but questioned whether the situation was quite as bad as painted by politicians and the media.

"The suggestion that you could ever send parents to prison because of offences committed by their children is simply wrong in principle."

Analysis by Bruce McKain
15 May 2003

http://www.theherald.co.uk/election99/archive/15-5-19103-0-21-43.html

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