As Director, Fiona leads CYCJ towards its ambition of ensuring that Scotland’s approach to children and young people in conflict with the law is rights-respecting, contributing to better outcomes for children, young people and communities. This involves supporting professionals from all disciplines who work with children and young people on the cusp of or involved in offending by promoting best practice based on up-to-date evidence and research.
Prior to and since joining CYCJ in 2013, Fiona has been committed to ensuring the rights of children in conflict with the law are upheld. Her aim is to provide leadership across all sectors where children are involved to ensure children are treated as children. Her work to date includes the Expert Group on Preventing Sexual Offending Involving Children and Young People, Expert Review on Mental Health and Young Offenders, Age of Criminal Responsibility, Independent Group to review Antisocial Behaviour, Restorative Justice, Children’s Rights and supporting the work of the Youth Justice Improvement Board. Fiona currently chairs the Age of Criminal Responsibility Data and Research Group, Police Custody and Children’s Rights Group.
Before joining CYCJ Fiona was seconded to the Scottish Government youth justice team for three years as a professional social work advisor to lead on the Scottish Government policy of the Whole System Approach, which was implemented across Scotland. Prior to this, she worked for ten years as a social worker and social work manager within the fields of youth and criminal justice within rural and urban areas of Scotland. Fiona is a member of Social Work Scotland.
Some of Fiona’s recent publications include:
- Dyer, F., Burman, M. & Vaswani, N. (forthcoming) Getting it Right for Every Child? Juvenile Justice in Scotland – chapter for third edition of the International Handbook of Juvenile Justice
- Dyer, F. (2025) Developing Evidence-based Practice: Collaborations between researchers and policymakers/ practitioners in reforming youth justice.
- Reimagining Custody for Children in Scotland. https://www.crimeandjustice.org.uk/prison-service-journal-278
- Independent Group on Antisocial Behaviour (2025) Antisocial Behaviour – Whose responsibility? Towards a more effective response to antisocial behaviour in Scotland
- Gibson, R., Vaswani, N., & Dyer, F. (2024). Supporting practice in Scotland: lessons from the Children and Young People’s Centre for Justice. Knowledge and skills partnerships in youth justice. Routledge.
- Youth Justice in Scotland: Still Fit for the Future? YJ-in-Scotland.pdf
- Reimagining Secure Care: A Vision for the Future – Children and Young People’s Centre for Justice
- Rights Respecting Justice for Children in Conflict with the Law – Children and Young People’s Centre for Justice (cycj.org.uk)
- Key Messages 2023/24 – Children and Young People’s Centre for Justice (cycj.org.uk)
- Dyer, F., Lightowler, C., & Vaswani, N. (2022). Exacerbating, illuminating and hiding rights issues: COVID-19 and children in conflict with the law. International Journal of Human Rights. https://doi.org/10.1080/13642987.2022.2060205
- Nolan, D., Dyer, F., & Vaswani, N. (2017) “Just a wee boy not cut out for prison”: Policy and reality in children and young people’s journeys through justice in Scotland. Criminology and Criminal Justice. https://doi.org/10.1177/1748895817745347