§ Mr. HumeTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what information is available to indicate the length of time between commission and detection of a juvenile offence and prosecution in court; and what has been the trend for such periods over the past five years.
§ Mr. CopeThe Chief Constable has informed me that the information requested is not held centrally and could not be obtained without disproportionate costs.
The Royal Ulster Constabulary has discretion under the juvenile liaison scheme, through which all such cases are dealt with, to issue a caution as an alternative to prosecution. It does so wherever possible so that not every case reaches court. In cases that are taken to court it is estimated that the average length of time between initiation of proceedings and the final court hearing is three months. I understand that hearings are often adjourned to allow reports on accused juveniles to be obtained from probation officers. An important feature of the juvenile liaison scheme is that juvenile liaison officers visit the parents of the accused juvenile offender before court action is commenced. Sometimes this is not readily possible and, where difficulties arise, alternative arrangements have to be made. Delays of up to a few weeks between detection of a juvenile offence and initiation of court proceedings can therefore occur in certain cases.
§ Mr. HumeTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether consideration has been given to extending the police juvenile liaison system by establishing a juvenile branch to deal with all prosecutions against juveniles; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. CopeUnder the juvenile scheme individual sub-divisional commanders have discretion to decide how an offence committed by a juvenile should be dealt with. This is in line with police policy elsewhere in the United Kingdom. Detection of offences by juveniles are therefore often not followed by a prosecution. Cautions are issued whenever possible. The Chief Constable tells me that he10W has no information to suggest that the use of discretion by sub-divisional commanders is a major factor in delays in the prosecution of juvenile offenders. I understand that he recently examined the desirability of creating a central juveniles branch within the Royal Ulster Constabulary and that he concluded that the case for doing so had not been made out.