ABSTRACT
Police experimental schemes with juvenile offenders were given increased impetus by new legislation brought in during the 1960s. This new legislation developed as a result of official concern regarding the escalating problem of juvenile crime and the high level of child neglect and cruelty exposed by the evacuation of children during World War II. In Scotland the Kilbrandon Committee reported in 1964, proposing, among other things, new and radical ideas for dealing with the young offender. In 1966 there followed a White Paper—‘Social Work and the Community’—which became the basis of a whole new system of juvenile justice in Scotland. In 1967 the Social Work Bill was presented to Parliament and it became law in July 1968. As a result of this Act, all social services were integrated into a single department—the social work department—and became the responsibility of the local authority. This part of the Act became effective in 1969.
