NCJ Number
73925
Journal
ANNALES DE VAUCRESSON Dated: (1979) Pages: special issue,P 543-549
Date Published
1979
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This paper describes the Scottish system for dealing with juvenile delinquency on the basis of social welfare and educational principles which include all children in trouble, defined as those in need as well as those who are troublesome.
Abstract
The definition of troubled children within the Scottish juvenile justice system includes both these categories, but a basic ambiguity in understanding this distinction lies at the core of the debates between the advocates of juvenile justice versus those who speak only of social welfare. This paper describes the current Scottish juvenile justice system in which welfare concepts and social and educational treatment measures have replaced the former crime-punishment formulas of criminal law. The treatment appropriate to a given child should depend upon the need for it, not upon moral judgment relating to the circumstances which have given rise to that need. This protective system is structured around the person of the Reporter, the key to the whole concept. This lay magistrate, not necessarily a lawyer, is the authority to whom any citizen can report a child in danger or in need. The emphasis on need rather than on troublesome behavior reveals the ambiguous nature of this system, since in fact, 90 percent of the cases are referred to the Reporter by the police because of criminal behavior. The Reporter decides whether the case is to be dealt with on the basis of negotiated agreement with the parents, the child, and the social worker, or whether there is need for a formal hearing before the lay panel with a view to taking compulsory measures of care in the community or within a residential facility. In approximately half of the cases, no formal action is taken; approximately 8 percent are placed in residential supervision by the lay panel, which has no powers to impose penal sanctions. Tabular data are provided.