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North Edinburgh Arts Centre was the setting for a major discussion event asking the question: Why Does Scotland Lock Up So Many Young People? The event was attended by young people from throughout North Edinburgh who took the opportunity to express their views and concerns to professionals in the field of youth justice. An audience which comprised MSPs, Prison Governors, Sheriffs, youth workers, academics, social workers and representatives from statutory and voluntary organisations listened and discussed this major issue that continues to affect many communities throughout Scotland.
The young people told of their frustration at how they were all “tarred with the same brush” by being excluded and marginalised from so many activities; purely because they were young. This feeling of being criminalised without justification was most eloquently expressed in a DVD, produced by the “NIP Crew”, a group of young people brought together by the Community Justice Organisation, Sacro, for the now unfunded North Edinburgh Intergenerational Project. Tales of them being barred from local restaurants, leisure centres and shops for being young only served to highlight the frustrating and unfair situation they regularly face.
Journalist Kenneth Roy set the scene with a harrowing story of Kelly and Arlene; two young Scottish girls who were remanded separately for very minor incidents and subsequently ended up taking their own lives. Lesley Riddoch, journalist and member of the McLeish Commission which looked into Scotland’s use of prisons, led the discussion by asking if this could still happen today. The view of the audience - including that of a prison governor - was that it absolutely could. With the vast majority of women being imprisoned demonstrating mental health and addiction issues at reception, it is inevitable that many young women are at risk of harming themselves. The audience also noted that there is insufficient provision for early intervention and treatment in a great many of these cases and much more needs to be done to address their needs.
The discussion continued by raising issues surrounding inadequate support for parents, a lack of facilities and activities for young people, police arrest quotas, inequality and deprivation.
The role of schools was highlighted as having the potential to play a greater part in addressing youth offending. A more community-facing role for schools that actively involved parents in the welfare of young people was suggested as having a major part to play. A more strategic response to reducing truancy and less reliance on exclusion from school were also suggested as solutions.
Funding is never very far away when discussing any project and the continued waste of resources being ploughed into services that do not work is a major concern for many in attendance. When the question “Why not close prisons and use the funds for community projects that are proven to reduce offending?” was asked, the views seemed to suggest a lack of public will to address the issues. The chief reasons for this were seen to stem from a sensation-seeking media and a party political desire to score points over one and other at the expense of facing real issues.
In rounding up the event, suggestions were canvassed from the audience in order to draw up a proposal to tackle the large number of young people incarcerated in Scotland.
The event was organised by the Howard League for Penal Reform in Scotland and it is their intention to produce a paper outlining the issues raised and solutions proposed on the evening. Responding to one of the evening’s most popular solutions, the League’s first step will be to promote legislation to restrict the use of custodial sentences for any young person under the age of 18 for all but the most serious violent offences.
One of the most encouraging aspects of the evening was the obvious determination shown by all to make things better. Despite the varied backgrounds, agendas and interests represented, there was a surprising degree of agreement on the night.
There is something to build on here and for the sake of our young people in Scotland, it should be acted on. The only real crime would be to ignore them.
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