AS the father of two unruly, unkempt children, I feel that I’m better placed than most to express an opinion on the locking up of under-18’s.

Back in the day, they would have been known as street urchins and would no doubt feature in gritty picture montages of Glasgow in a bygone era.

Major roles in productions of Oliver Twist would be a shoo-in for them.

I’m sure I’m not the only parent to completely overreact when yet another expensive smartphone is found in bits on the floor after an experiment with a bowl of cereal goes awry.

You should be locked up, or hanging’s too good for you may have been extreme reactions, but were sincerely felt at the time.

Personally, I would lock up every child from the age of around six until they are at least 25, although freedom could be guaranteed sooner if they could prove they could carry out the simplest of household tasks.

A week of intensive dishwashing could be followed by learning how to use a washing machine and tidying their bedrooms could see them on the road to liberation.

Sadly, under these rules, my two would probably never get out.

Of course, I am only joking and my two are actually fine, upstanding pillars of the community and I can’t believe I wrote that with a straight face.

They still deserved to have been locked up at times though which is a sentiment I know is shared by virtually every parent at some point over their children’s lives.

Kids can try your patience like nobody else after all – but obviously we wouldn’t be without them and they can provide more pride than anyone else too.

Of course, unfortunately, there are hundreds of children aged under 18 who are sent to Scotland's Young Offenders Institution in Polmont many of them on remand.

But this practice should end in the next decade after the Scottish government pledged that sixteen and 17-year-olds in Scotland will not be placed in young offenders institutions under new plans.

Ministers say they want to end the placement of under 18s in custody “without delay”.

Instead, ministers said they would fund “care-based alternatives” and shift the approach from “one of punishment to one of love and support”.

It is one of 80 steps contained in a plan to improve the lives of children in care and their families.

The document also outlines plans to give a £200 annual grant to young people aged 16-25 with experience of the care system.

Other changes include redesigns of the Children’s Hearings system and the governance of the care system.

It follows the publication of The Promise by the Independent Care Review in 2020, which said many young people experienced a “fractured, bureaucratic and unfeeling” system.

The review said the care system should have love and nurture at its heart.

Clare Haughey, the minister for children and young people, said the government was committed to fulfilling The Promise by 2030.

While much of The Promise seems fair enough, what it doesn't address is what happens when young adults actually commit a crime? After all, Aaron Campbell was just 16 when he was sentenced to life for killing six-year-old Alesha Macphail on the Isle of Bute in 2018.

Prisoners under the age of 21 are usually sent to Polmont young offenders' institution until they are old enough for an adult prison.

Under the new scheme, it will be closed and young offenders will instead be sent to secure units until they are old enough to go to an adult jail.

Campaigners have for years been calling for penal reform in Scotland as the country has one of the highest prison populations in Europe.

Many inmates have extremely complicated lives, such as drug addiction, and the argument goes that prison does them no good.

That may be true, but if you commit a crime that carries a jail sentence then you should not be surprised to be sent to prison.

After all, in a pure sense, if nobody committed any crime then there would be no need for any prisons.

The government could also decriminalise most things but that wouldn't really help society as a whole.

Reforming prisons is a highly complex matter but giving young adults effectively a free hit to carry out crime, knowing they won't get punished is not the answer.

Like most youngsters, a short, sharp shock could be just what they need.