Structured deferred sentences: guidance

Footnotes

1. As of mid-2020, SDS was operating in some form across 15 local authorities in Scotland. Information from Justice Analytical Services (Scottish Government) indicates that 820 SDS were commenced in all 15 of those local authorities in 2018-19, 70% of which were for males 

2. Due to be reviewed in 2021

3. Scottish Government Publications: Evaluation of Sixteen Women's Community Justice Services in Scotland - Research Findings

4. There is potential to promote SDS linked to the Whole System Approach (WSA) for young people in the justice system, especially where areas are expanding this to 21-year-olds (or up to 25/26 years in some instances). While SDS does involve court time - and the aim of the WSA is to keep under-18s out of the formal justice system as far as possible - it can serve to avoid young people being further drawn into the justice system as well as prevent re-offending.

Further, The Promise, arising from the Independent Care Review (2020: 40), highlights that children who are involved in offending need protection and care, and that the criminalisation of children should be avoided, intervention should be early, minimal, and as destigmatising as possible, and all decisions made by professionals should be centred on the child’s best interest.

Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) principles should also be taken into account when working with children/young people in the justice system 

5. See section 2.4.1 for specific considerations regarding domestic offences. It is also noted that SDS is unlikely to be suitable for offences involving serious harm. In all cases, the needs, rights and safety of any direct or indirect victims should be taken into account

6. Again, those posing a higher risk of harm to specific victims, groups, and/or the general public are unlikely to be assessed as suitable for SDS

7. See here for the ALISS (A Local Information System for Scotland) directory of services in local areas, as well as here for a range of NHS services

8. See also the Framework for Risk Assessment, Management, and Evaluation (FRAME) – a shared consistent framework which promotes proportionate, purposeful and defensible risk assessment and management practice for justice social work services and key partners

9. The Criminal Justice Voluntary Sector Forum have created the ‘Beyond Consultation’ toolkit to support third sector participation in local community justice processes, which services may find useful 

10. Also consider remittal to the Children’s Hearing System where appropriate for those aged under 18. There may also be circumstances whereby SDS could be suitable for those under 16 e.g. a 15½-year-old jointly reported to the Children’s Hearing and Procurator Fiscal and dealt with by the court

11. It may also be that an individual has very limited or no offending-related needs and a short period of SDS, where appropriate, may serve to encourage desistance and divert them from further involvement in the justice system 

12. Some schemes place a limit on the amount of previous convictions that an individual can have in order to be suitable for a general SDS, such as 10 or less; this will be based on particular schemes’ priorities and criteria

13. CJSWR authors should take into consideration that, due to the nature of domestic abuse, the offending behaviour coming to the attention of the police and/or the courts may only represent a very small part of the abuse experienced by the victim. Coercive and controlling behaviours which can characterise domestic abuse are intentional, targeted and repeated patterns, designed to restrict victims’ agency and control, and may not necessarily be evident or reported to others

14. Services may wish to refer to the Risk Management Authority’s Risk Assessment Tools Evaluation Directory (RATED) for information on appropriate risk assessment tools

15. Services working with children/young people should also incorporate the GIRFEC wellbeing indicators as part of any action planning

16. There is no minimum length arising from the legislative provision at Section 202 of the 1995 Act; however, as SDS requires intervention as well as deferral, it is unusual for SDS to be shorter than 4-6 weeks and an SDS of three months duration is typical 

17. This may be where non-engagement is a persistent issue, or where there are any concerns regarding an escalation of risk. Again, engagement and communication with relevant agencies will be necessary should there be any safety concerns in relation to specific victims or groups

It is also noted that the Care Inspectorate’s guidance on Serious Incident Reviews relates to CPOs, DTTOs, and statutory throughcare licences. Where an individual subject to SDS is alleged to have committed, or is subsequently convicted of, an offence which meets the FRAME definition of Serious Harm, the SIR guidance and templates can be utilised by justice social work services to support learning and continuous improvement without the expectation of submitting a notification to the Care Inspectorate