Age of Criminal Responsibility (Scotland) Act 2019: child interview rights practitioners application guidance

Overview

Child interview rights practitioners (ChIRPs) support children being interviewed by the police under the Age of Criminal Responsibility (Scotland) Act 2019. They make sure children's rights are protected and help them understand and take part in the interview process.

Police only use these interviews for the most serious incidents involving children under 12, and only when they need to find out what happened. Support from a ChIRP is still available even if the child has since turned 12 by the time the interview takes place.

We published statutory guidance for these interviews, reflecting how serious and unusual they are. For less serious behaviour, police can speak to children directly, in an age-appropriate way, without a ChIRP present.

The Scottish Government keeps a register of authorised ChIRPs.

Background to the role

The ChIRP role was originally called 'advocacy worker'. It was renamed during the passage of the Age of Criminal Responsibility (Scotland) Bill because 'advocacy worker' didn't reflect what the role involved. Advocacy workers help children explore their options but don't recommend a course of action, whereas ChIRPs do.

What a ChIRP does

A ChIRP must be a solicitor from the Children's Legal Assistance Scheme. This means the same solicitor may continue representing the child at any children's hearing that follows, giving the child a consistent, trusted point of contact.

During an investigative interview, a ChIRP:

• helps the child understand the interview's purpose, their rights (including the right to refuse to answer questions), and what might happen as a result
• can recommend how the child should exercise their rights
• stays in the room with the child throughout
• speaks to the interviewer on the child's behalf, or helps the child communicate with them
• can challenge how the interview is being run if it doesn't follow the child interview order, isn't fair, or doesn't treat the child's wellbeing as a priority

Joining the register

Solicitors can apply to join the ChIRPs register, with support from their law firm, either nationally or for specific regions. Applicants must be able to cover an entire local authority area. If applying to cover more than one area, we'll need assurance that travel won't affect their ability to do the job properly.