First child tagged
A boy aged 15, described as a ‘persistent offender’, is the first child in Scotland to be subject to a tagging order. It is believed that the boy was involved in the children’s hearing system for persistent low-level antisocial behaviour, and he will now have to wear the electronic tag for a period of three months. The boy is currently in a children’s home and will receive support to help him change his behaviour. For more details, visit
http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=617042005.
Most measures from the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004 came into force in October last year and the Executive insists that progress is being made. Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson says that the implementation of this legislation ‘is starting to have a real impact in tackling thuggish behaviour across Scotland’.
So far to our knowledge, Grampian police are the only force to have used their powers on dispersal of groups, to tackle antisocial behaviour on Beach Boulevard. Only three police forces (Fife, Lothian and Borders, and Tayside) have obtained closure orders. Edinburgh Sheriff Court has granted an interim ASBO against a 16-year-old for several incidents of racist behaviour, as well as alleged street drinking, shouting and swearing. No ASBO has so far been issued to an under-16 year old. The City of Edinburgh Council is now set to pilot the use of Parenting Orders, while Tayside police are piloting the use of fixed penalty notices for minor antisocial behaviour offences.
The Council of Europe’s human rights commissioner, Alvaro Gil-Robles, has condemned Britain’s approach to dealing with terrorism as ignoring the basic human right of the presumption of innocence. His report included criticisms of the new antisocial behaviour legislation, and he warned that the Government must ensure that the use of ASBOs is restricted to appropriate and serious cases.
A summary of the areas of the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004 likely to have the most impact on children can be found in the next issue of our newsletter, Youth Matters, due out soon. For more information on the legislation and to keep up to date with items in the news, visit
www.antisocialbehaviourscotland.com/asb.
Children’s Hearings system overhaul
Plans have been announced by the Executive for a radical overhaul of the children’s hearings system. Proposed changes include holding more hearings outside school hours to avoid children having to miss time at school, particularly those who already have poor attendance, and having an increased number of children’s panel meetings for those children and young people involved in persistent and serious youth offending. There is also the possibility that these children may have to face the victims of their crimes. The Executive hopes that these changes will improve the way that youth offending is dealt with, and that the system will respond more quickly to the problems and behaviour of the children involved in youth crime. Social workers, teachers and police will also be affected by the changes – in an attempt to avoid children slipping through the gaps, a lead professional will be assigned to each child to ensure consistency and avoid them being lost between agencies.
Latest advice calls
School swimming:
S called us regarding his daughter, aged 15. She attended the local authority secondary school, and her timetable included swimming lessons. However, she was fearful of swimming pools and S wanted to find out if she could be withdrawn from swimming lessons. We advised that she can be withdrawn from swimming lessons and that at the age of 15 is old enough to express her own views to the teacher as well. This would not be grounds for exclusion.
Medical consent:
L called with a question about the age of legal capacity. She was seeking clarification on the age at which a person can give consent to medical treatment. We advised her that there is no lower age limit set in the law for giving medical consent, but rather that it is down to the qualified medical practitioner to judge the individual’s understanding of the treatment or procedure and establish whether they have the capacity to consent.
To help you keep up to date with the issues affecting our callers, we will have a regularly updated Advice Calls page in your members only web zone.
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Scottish Child Law Centre
54 East Crosscauseway
Edinburgh EH8 9HD
Tel 0131 667 6333
Under 18s 0800 328 8970
Fax 0131 622 1713
enquiries@sclc.org.uk
www.sclc.org.uk
