The Glasgow Youth Court is a judicially led initiative, supported by Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP), which has been operational since June 2021. Functioning within the Glasgow Sheriff Court, it covers cases involving a young person, aged between 16 and 24 years old, who has pled guilty or been found guilty of an offence that would normally be dealt with by a Sheriff Court. The thinking was that young people are still maturing so they might need to be treated a bit differently to adults. They might need help to understand what happens at court, and they might find it harder to stick to the order that the court gives them.

In the youth court, the presiding Sheriff has lots of different options and sentences they can use. At the youth court though, the most common decision is a Structured Deferred Sentence (SDS). An SDS requires the young person to meet with a social worker at the Sheriff Court regularly (often every week) but they also get help and support. For example they might get help with applying for jobs, or learning new skills, or support for their drinking or drug use.

The Children and Young People's Centre for Justice (CYCJ) was asked to study the youth court to find out what people who worked in the court or who attended the court thought about it and what it had been like for them.

The research reports,  charting the development and impact to date of Glasgow Youth Court,  are now available:

• Glasgow Youth Court: Full Report
• Glasgow Youth Court: Young Person’s Report

Lynsey Smith, Head of Adult Services (Justice Services) and Health and Social Care Connect, said “The Glasgow Youth Court Report provides us with key findings that can allow us to develop the youth courts. It also evidences how the youth court is experienced by a range of key stakeholders, including the young people themselves.”

Some of the main finding of the report include:

• The views of young people should be gathered and used to help inform the development of future Youth Courts.
• To assist with preparing young people for their appearance at Youth Courts, consideration should be given to the use of resources such as pictorial leaflets, videos and animations in order to aid their understanding of what to expect.
• Closed courts should be considered, to ensure young people’s privacy is protected especially given the emotional distress a lack of privacy can cause.
• The language and actions of all professionals in Youth Courts should change to accommodate and meet the purpose of the Youth Court. Additional training should be considered in order to accomplish this. 

A young person who recently went through the youth court / Structured Deferred Sentencing process said: “I’m changed, and I mean it! It really only had a positive impact on me. I don’t regret the experience, because I could have been there with my issues still, but it helped me.”

For more information on Glasgow Youth Court, read the full report.