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The Scottish executive is considering extending the children's hearing system to cover 16-18-year-olds.

Justice minister Jim Wallace told an Association of Scottish Police Superintendents conference the idea would be piloted using powers in the Criminal Justice Bill.

"The idea is to ensure that those committing minor offences are given assistance to address patterns of offending, with sentence disposals tailored to their needs and with a view to breaking the cycle of offending," he said.

The minister denied the executive intended to abandon the adult justice system for those aged 16 to 18: "Let me make it absolutely clear that we have no such proposal and do not intend to.

"For some in this age group, I have no doubt that the adult justice system and a custodial sentence are entirely appropriate," he added.