CYCJ and the Scottish Sentencing Council presented a joint webinar on January 20, ahead of the Scottish Sentencing Council’s new guideline on the sentencing of young people, which came into effect for all Scotland’s courts on January 26, 2022.
This new guideline on the sentencing of young people requires courts to have regard to rehabilitation as a primary consideration and seeks to reduce reoffending among young people. It will apply to the sentencing of those who are under the age of 25 at the date of their plea of guilty or when a finding of guilt is made against them.
This webinar gave an overview of key findings from this work, with expert speakers Dr Suzanne O’Rourke, Senior Lecturer in Forensic Clinical Psychology at the University of Edinburgh, retired Sheriff David Mackie, and Kirsty Giles, Psychotherapist, Scottish Violence Reduction Unit, discussing the factors which informed the development of the guideline. These include the development of cognitive maturity, the importance of rehabilitative approaches to sentencing, and how the impact of trauma and adversity in childhood can be addressed to reduce reoffending.
John Scott QC chaired this event, with an introduction by Fiona Dyer (Director, CYCJ).
Slides
Dr Suzanne O’Rourke, University of Edinburgh
The development of cognitive and emotional maturity in adolescents and its relevance in judicial contexts
Kirsty Giles, Scottish Violence Reduction Unit
Addressing trauma and adversity to reduce the risk of reoffending
Summary by Sheriff David Mackie
Background reading
Sentencing young people guideline
Sentencing young people consultation report
Cognitive maturity literature review
Principles and purposes of sentencing guideline