Abstract
This study explores the experiences of the black children and young men that attended a Youth Offending Team (YOT) in Liverpool, a city in the North of England, UK. It focuses on the perspectives of both the YOT practitioners and the black children/young men as they develop working relationships with each other. Through this two-way prism the back children/young men reflect on what is important to them before and after they enter the criminal justice system. Likewise, the YOT practitioners provide their understanding of the key issues in the young people’s lives—in particular, how the black children/young men made sense of their lives in Liverpool with a particular identity with place, space, class and race. A genealogy of race/class prism, along with an intersectional and appreciative inquiry methodology, was employed that encouraged the youth justice workers and young black men to explore the strengths and realities of their lives. Focus groups were undertaken with seven YOT practitioners and managers, along with semi-structured interviews with five black children/young men. The methodology focused on points of intersection of power, difference and identity. Findings that emerged from the participants included the experience of racism within the criminal justice system, the community and the wider city, along with the importance of education, employment and relations with the young people’s family. A core theme was an identity of black children/young men from a specific region. This intersection was as Scousers, black boys/young men, the contestation over space and their negotiated identity regarding race. The ambivalence and (un)certainty that these identities evoked provide possibilities for youth justice practitioners engaging with young black men involved in serious and repeat offending.
Highlights
This report provides findings from a study that explored the narratives of youth justice workers1 and black boys and young men2 as they enter and engage with the youth justice system
The discussions with the youth justice workers and black children/young men explored their understanding of their relationships with their Youth Offending Team (YOT) and their families and their journey that led them into the criminal justice system, identifying some of the issues that were important in the black young people’s lives
Commonalities of journeys included an understanding of the importance of their city, and identity, that resonated with both the YOT practitioners and black children/young people
Summary
This report provides findings from a study that explored the narratives of youth justice workers and black boys and young men as they enter and engage with the youth justice system. Practitioners that work in Youth Offending Teams. In England and Wales, the legally recognised age of criminal responsibility is 10. Between the ages of 10 and 17, young people committing a crime can be arrested and processed through the courts but will receive different sentences to adults and if a custodial sentence is warranted, this will be served in a young person’s facility. The legal threshold for treatment as an adult is 18, but 18–25 year olds have their own custodial facilities.
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