We’ve submitted the below response this week to the Scottish Government’s call for feedback on the Age of Criminal Responsibility (Scotland) Bill

Over the past year Social Work Scotland has been involved in detailed, technical discussions about
how raising the age of criminal responsibility to 12 will be implemented, ensuring that community
safety is preserved and the experiences of victims respected. These discussions have underlined the
scale of the challenges involved, and while it is absolutely right that the age of criminal
responsibility be raised, it must be done so in such a way as to allow professionals and systems to
adapt appropriately, shifting to a youth support (rather than a youth justice) model.

Read more: Call for feedback response – Age of Criminal responsibility (pdf)