Minister rejects criminal justice bill changes
Tom Lloyd
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Legal changes designed to ensure custody is only used as a last resort for under 18s have been thrown out by the government.
Criminal justice minister David Hanson has rejected two key amendments to the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill that were made for this purpose.
The first would have stopped young people being sentenced to custody unless they had first received a community order with intensive supervision and surveillance.
The second would have introduced a custody threshold that had to be met before a young person could be imprisoned.
David Heath, the Liberal Democrat MP for Somerton and Frome, said: "The aim of this is to ensure that children are locked up only as a last resort for reasons of public protection, except where a mandatory custodial sentence applies."
Hanson rejected both amendments on the grounds that they are not necessary. He said the alternatives to custody in the Bill are sufficient, and the use of custody is already limited.
The minister also refused an amendment that would have banned the use of antisocial behaviour orders on under 18s, unless the antisocial behaviour had been committed with an adult.
He said orders help young people address their behaviour before they are drawn into the criminal justice system.
