Referral to the Children's Reporter

The Scottish Children's Reporter Administration (SCRA) is a national body focused on children most at risk. SCRA’s main responsibilities are: 

The Reporter’s primary function is to receive referrals for children who are believed to require compulsory measures of supervision (legal intervention) and decide whether the child should be referred to a Children’s Hearing.  

The Reporter may receive a referral from the police, COPFS, social work department or schools, as well as any parent, family member or concerned member of the public. The Reporter will receive information about the child to help them make the decision.  

If the Reporter decides to refer the child to a Children’s Hearing, they will draft a statement of grounds. This is the legal and factual reason for referring the child to the Hearing. 

The Reporter also conducts Children’s Hearings court proceedings. 

Children can be referred to the Reporter from birth to 16 years.  

When Police Scotland report a child to COPFS, they will also report the child to the Reporter, this is known as a joint report.  

Jointly reported cases are considered by prosecutors in accordance with the Prosecution Code and the joint agreement between COPFS and SCRA on ‘Decision making in cases of children who are jointly reported to the Procurator Fiscal and Children’s Reporter’. 

It is for the prosecutor to make the final decision in a jointly reported case as to what the appropriate prosecutorial action is: 

or  

The Reporter will not act on the joint report until they have had confirmation from the prosecutor that it is being referred to them.  

Prosecutors can only refer a case to the Reporter for an offence where there is enough evidence.

The aim of a referral is to reduce the risk of re-offending and to focus on the child’s needs, not deeds, so they can grow up to be a contributing member of society. 

Unlike the adult court system, the Children’s Hearing System overall is designed to address all areas of the child’s life, not just the behaviour which brought them to the attention of the police. It may be a wider factor has contributed to the behaviour such as a child’s homelife or exposure to neglect or trauma.  

A referral to the Reporter is an alternative to prosecution and once a prosecutor refers a case to the Reporter, the child cannot be prosecuted for that offence. The decision cannot be reviewed under the Victims Right to Review scheme.  

If, however, the jointly reported case is to be retained by the prosecutor, it is open to the prosecutor to reconsider that decision at a later date.  

A victim’s views are important, and these will be carefully considered by the prosecutor, and Crown Counsel, when deciding whether it is appropriate to refer a child to the Reporter. This means that the views of a victim should be obtained before any decision is made to refer the individual to the Reporter.  

However, the prosecutor must take into consideration a number of factors. A victim’s views will not be the only factor when deciding whether a referral to the Reporter is appropriate in the circumstances of each case. 

A victim should be provided with information as to what referral to the Reporter is and what is involved to ensure they have a clear understanding prior to being asked for their views on this option.    

If a victim is supported by an advocacy worker service, information can be sought from that service with the victim’s consent.

Victims should be advised that the final decision on whether or not to prosecute the child reported to COPFS is made by the prosecutor after carefully considering the joint report from the police and after they have discussed the case with the Reporter.  

In cases where referral to the Reporter is being considered, it should be made clear to the victim that if the child is referred to the Reporter, that decision cannot be reconsidered. Once the child has been referred to the Reporter in relation to any offence, they cannot then be prosecuted for that offence.  

The victim should be told when a decision to refer a case to the Reporter is made. However, it will not be possible for COPFS to confirm whether or not the Reporter will refer the child to a Children’s Hearing. That is a separate decision which will be determined by the Reporter once they have conducted their own enquiries.  

When a child is being referred to the Reporter, the victim will be advised that any undertaking conditions or special conditions of bail will no longer apply. 

Specific information and/or personal details of the child who is being considered for referral to the Reporter cannot be shared with a victim as that might reveal sensitive and confidential information about the child’s personal circumstances. 

SCRA provides an information service to victims of offending behaviour by children. Further information on this service can be found on the Service to Victims page of the SCRA website.

The Reporter’s primary function is to receive referrals for children who are believed to require compulsory measures of supervision. The Reporter can receive referrals for children who are alleged to have committed an offence, but they can also receive referrals based on concerns about the welfare of a child.   

The Reporter undertakes their own investigations into a referral (which may include requesting a social work assessment, obtaining further information from others, including the police) to determine (1) if any grounds apply and (2) if there is a need for the imposition of compulsory measures.  

If the answer to both of those is yes, the Reporter must arrange a Children’s Hearing, where panel members from Children's Hearing Scotland decide on any Compulsory Supervision Order (CSO).  

If the answer to either question is no, the child cannot be referred to a Children’s Hearing, however an intervention may still be provided by the local authority or other service provider with the child and their family on a voluntary basis that will address the child’s offending behaviour.   

There still requires to be evidence to a criminal standard for a child to be referred by the Reporter to the Children’s Hearing on an offence ground. It is for the Reporter to determine which ground they use to refer a child to the Children’s Hearing. It may be there is a lack of sufficient evidence for the offence, but the Reporter still refers the child for a different reason based on welfare concerns for the child.

Children's Hearings Scotland is an independent and impartial tribunal, independent of the Reporter, SCRA, the local authority, court and other organisations.  

A Children’s Hearing (often referred to as the “Children’s Panel” or “Panel”) is a legal meeting arranged to consider and make decisions about children who are having problems in their lives and who may need legal steps to be taken to help them. Children’s Hearings are held in private and only those people who have a legal right to be there, or are allowed to be there by the chairperson, will be present. 

Further information on what happens at a Children's Hearing can be found on the Children’s Hearing Scotland and Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration websites.  

For more detailed information please see: 

Decision making in cases of child accused | COPFS 

Scottish Children's Reporter Administration  

Children's Hearings Scotland