Similarities Between The United States And Scotland's Juvenile Justice System

Ally Felch

Dr. Costello

SOC 3920-001

4/21/23

The United States and Scotland Comparative Juvenile Justice “I will never quit working to strengthen America’s commitment to justice and building a system focused on redemption and rehabilitation, especially for our children.” (House, 2022) President Joe Biden stated the preceding in a White House document released in September of 2022. The United States boasts their juvenile justice system as one which rehabilitates youth and focuses on keeping juvenile delinquents out of the system in their future. However, it is apparent through the president’s statement that America could make far more advancements in the functions of the juvenile justice system. While many great reforms have taken place in

For example, while many American police departments' framework surrounds community policing, it’s often not seen in practice. Community policing is a philosophy which encourages dialogue and trust between officers and citizens. In many cities and towns across the country, citizens rarely see community policing because of the high militarization of police departments and mistrust between police officers and citizens. This creates more reason for individuals, especially children with poor perceptions of the police, to deviate more and commit more crime. The opposite is true in Scotland; the 2020 Scottish Household Survey reported that 87% of respondents had trust in their police and the majority had trust in the justice system. (Scottish Police Authority) This contrast from American opinions on policing, creates less of an inclination for youth to commit crimes and become involved with the justice

(Winterdyk, 2014) This is what Scotland has used since then in place of a court system for children. The Scottish Children’s Hearing System is an organization which ensures that at each hearing, the child is able to voice their opinions and that the child reporter takes circumstances into consideration. (Children’s Hearings - Child Protection - gov.scot) This system was a predecessor to the Getting it Right for Every Child Model (GIRFEC) which has been an underlier in every policy reform of juvenile justice in Scotland since 2007. GIRFEC ensures that the youth and their family's needs are being met prior to deciding a legal course of action. They specifically take mitigating circumstances into account when a child has committed a crime. Getting it Right For Every Child was also the underlier for another approach titled the Whole Systems approach, created in 2011. These models have jointly worked as a means to positive outcomes for youths involved in juvenile crimes.

While American courts often do take mitigating circumstances into account when deciding a course of action for a juvenile case, there is no legal framework for doing so. It is simply the job of the judge, prosecutor and the youth probation officer to decide