Forensic data is recovered from a lot of people at the point of investigation. As far as younger children are concerned, under-12s cannot be prosecuted, so we are notified by the children’s reporter about the action that they are taking, and at that point, any samples that have been taken are destroyed. The Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 allows us to retain samples for excepted established cases, but after three years, they are subject to review to find out whether it is necessary and proportionate to continue to retain them, with rolling two-yearly reviews thereafter.
In the recent past, we have had the independent advisory group on biometric data, whose recommendations we are encompassing in our current work on the age of criminal responsibility. Our team is starting to draw together some of the work on under-18s and to consider how we can best give effect to the group’s recommendations.
Part of the challenge that we face touches on Juliet Harris’s earlier point about how we communicate all this to children. It is really important that we make sure that the child understands what we have done, why we have done it, what happens next and what their rights are. That sounds easy when we talk about it in this forum, but it is not; it is, in fact, very difficult, because children are at different levels of learning. As Lesley Boal has pointed out, there is also the challenge of when to impart such information to a child. When are they ready to listen and understand? They might say, “Yeah, yeah—I understand,” but they might not.
Moreover, who is the right person to communicate that information to them? Kate Rocks has already touched on this, but more and more we are working collaboratively, because that is the best way of working. We recognise that we are the police and that, therefore, we come with a label and a certain expectation, particularly for children. It is a question of recognising when we are the right people to be involved and when we are not, and of recognising the skills and abilities of others in a child’s life. Our approach should very much centre on finding the right person for the child; it might be a social worker, a teacher, mum or dad or someone different. We just need to identify who is best placed to communicate information to children.
We are in a process of change with regard to biometric data, and the review has identified the need for that to take place. Consultation is being undertaken in that respect, and we are keen to be directly involved in it. We recognise the need for it, and we welcome the opportunity to ensure that the process that we put in place is, first and foremost, fair.