New research report – children accused of serious offending referred to the Reporter
The Age of Criminal Responsibility (Scotland) Act 2019, which was implemented on the 17th December 2021, raised the age of criminal responsibility from 8 to 12 years of age. The Scottish Government have committed to considering whether further raises to the Age of Criminal Responsibility are appropriate. This will occur in December 2025.
To increase understanding of how further raises to the Age of Criminal Responsibility could affect how offending by children is addressed, SCRA’s Research Team have completed an analysis into how offending by children aged 12-15 is addressed by the Children’s Reporter. The analysis focusses specifically on offences where serious physical or sexual harm has been caused by a child. It explores the nature of the alleged offences and the outcomes of referrals made to the Reporter. It also provides insight into what goes on inside the Children’s Hearings System and describes how the Children’s Reporter makes decisions about what happens with children who are charged with some of the most serious offences.
The findings show that boys are more likely than girls to be charged with offences. As such, the majority of children referred to the Reporter for causing serious harm are boys. Boys were more likely to be referred to the Children’s Reporter after an allegation of sexual assault had been made. In contrast, girls were more likely to be referred for sexual communications offences (i.e. the sharing of intimate images) and physical assaults.
Two thirds of the children referred for causing serious harm had a long history of social work involvement. Their lives were characterised by poverty, poor parental care, exposure to domestic violence, childhood maltreatment and exclusion from school. High levels of mental ill-health, learning difficulties and neurodiversity were also present in the children’s lives. 1 in 10 of the children were identified as either being, or at risk of being, criminally and/or sexually exploited. The interventions and supports provided to this group focussed upon addressing both the harmful behaviour and the underlying welfare needs of the children.
A third of the children accused of a serious offence had no history of social work involvement. This group of children tended to include those charged with sexual assaults and sexual communication offences. In many cases it was clear that the children had poor understandings of sexual boundaries and consent, and interventions were put in place to address this.
Providing support to address both the harmful behaviour(s) and the underlying welfare concerns of the children resulted in fewer offence referrals being made to the Reporter in the following 12 months. 9 in 10 of the children were not referred for a further serious offence. Where children continued to show offending behaviour it tended to be due to the complexity of their lives, the wider adversity they faced and the influence of others. Concerns were also raised about the combined impact of austerity, the Covid-19 pandemic and the on-going cost of living crisis on the availability of support services for children who continue to offend. It was also highlighted that more needs to be done to ensure that those who are harmed by children are supported when the child who has caused them harm is referred to the Reporter.
The report concludes that the Children’s Hearings System is the most appropriate way to manage serious offence referrals for many children. However, there is a need for ongoing and additional funding to ensure that interventions from social work, health, education and other organisations are timely and effective. It also identifies that if the age of criminal responsibility was to be increased to be more in line with the best practice identified within the UNCRC this additional funding would be vital, as a result the report recommends a step process to increasing the age of criminal responsibility starting with an increase to age 14.
Kristina Moodie, the lead author on the report told us that “serious offending by children tends to be of interest to the public and can result in increased public discourse around how agencies in Scotland respond to childhood crime. Existing research has shown that the most effective way to address offending behaviour among children is to address their underlying needs rather than applying punishments through formal court systems. The findings of this report add further evidence of the benefit that addressing the underlying welfare needs of children can have upon offending behaviour”.
Alistair Hogg, SCRA’s Head of Practice and Policy said: “This excellent research builds on our previous research more generally into offending behaviour by children aged between 12 and 15. The focus of this work has been on children who are involved in serious offending behaviour, and the findings reinforce the conclusions of the previous research. The very small number of children who commit serious offences are often children who have suffered significant trauma and adversity. They are often children who have been harmed themselves, and for whom a welfare based approach is the most effective response. The underlying causes of serious offending behaviour by children are largely amenable to change with the right amount of time, support and intervention. There is substantial evidence that this is the right approach for children, and that harsher responses are much less effective.”
Alistair added: “However, what the report helpfully recognises is that there are a number of areas for improvement. We need to ensure that those who have been harmed receive the support that they need. We also recognise that there is a need to support better understanding within communities of the impact of trauma, and the range of supports and interventions that are used to address behaviour and how effective they are at preventing future offending. There is also a pressing need for investment to create the capacity and resources needed to provide the services for prevention and early support.”
“The findings are particularly interesting in relation to sexual offending, and how this links to social media. The report highlights the need to focus more on educating children on understanding consent and sexual boundaries.
“We hope this report will contribute positively to the consideration of raising the age of criminal responsibility.”
Read the full report ‘Children aged 12-15 years involved in serious offending referred to the Reporter – Exploring gender differences in serious offending, and Reporter decision making’.
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