Youth Justice Practitioners Research Articles

‘Back to Basics’: A Practice Approach to Reforming Youth Justice

The delivery of high-quality case work is central to efforts to reform youth justice systems around the world. Youth justice practitioners can be the most effective agents of change when the focus of their casework practice is on listening to justice-involved young people, helping them to feel safe and to avoid re-traumatization, and working in ways that promote positive childhood experiences. It is argued that developing ‘practice-based evidence’ in this way can help to unite the field, to close the policy implementation gap, and simultaneously contribute to the personal wellbeing of young people and the broader agenda of public safety.

In conversation: An inside perspective of youth justice practice and experience

This reflective, dialogue between two youth justice professionals who have lived experience of being incarcerated children aims to provide an insight into their unique transition. Although living in very different parts of Britain, they discuss and reflect upon similarities in terms of strengths and challenges that come with being formerly incarcerated youth justice practitioners. Both authors share their insights of youth justice developments, their perspectives of participatory practice and how experiential knowing can impact relationship building with justice involved children.

Child Criminal Exploitation and the Interactional Emergence of Victim Status

Abstract This article draws on observations and interviews with youth justice practitioners and young people involved in county lines drug dealing to explore the processes by which young people are identified as victims of child criminal exploitation (CCE). The findings reveal that interpersonal interactions between practitioners and young people, specifically young people’s capacity to share information and accept intended acts of care, are vital in producing their status as CCE victims. Yet, a lack of appreciation for young people’s divergent experiences of these interactions can create barriers to their realization. The article concludes by exploring the implications of these processes for contemporary youth justice practice, and by questioning the utility of CCE victim identification as a response to children experiencing harm.

Victim as a relative status

This article advances a theory of the ‘relative’ nature of victim status, demonstrating that whether an individual is identified as a victim is, in part, conditional on their relationships with others. Using the example of victim identification in cases of child criminal exploitation, this article demonstrates that youth justice practitioners’ perceptions of young people's peer relationships and their relationships with their families had a significant impact on whether young people were identified as victims of child criminal exploitation. To explain this dynamic, this article then further explores the conceptual nature of victim status, focusing on its transient and finite qualities. In doing so, this article begins to address the relational gap in the study of processes of victim identification.

‘It’s a hard balance to find’: the perspectives of youth justice practitioners in England on the place of ‘risk’ in an emerging ‘child first’ world

‘It’s a hard balance to find’: the perspectives of youth justice practitioners in England on the place of ‘risk’ in an emerging ‘child first’ world

‘It’s a Hard Balance to Find’: The Perspectives of Youth Justice Practitioners in England on the Place of ‘Risk’ in an Emerging ‘Child-First’ World

‘It’s a Hard Balance to Find’: The Perspectives of Youth Justice Practitioners in England on the Place of ‘Risk’ in an Emerging ‘Child-First’ World

‘It’s a Hard Balance to Find’: The Perspectives of Youth Justice Practitioners in England on the Place of ‘Risk’ in an Emerging ‘Child-First’ World

In recent years, there has been a shift in youth justice central policy narratives in England and Wales away from risk assessment and management and towards child first. However, this shift is meeting with a number of challenges on the ground. The reasons for this have been conceptualised as resistance and reticence, contradiction and bifurcation and confusion about competing narratives emerging from different UK government departments about how to meet the statutory requirement to ‘prevent’ youth offending. The article emphasises the importance of meaningfully engaging with youth justice practitioners in debates about how to meet this challenge.

Analysing the applicability of family group conferencing as a youth justice intervention in South Africa

ABSTRACT The present study aimed to explore the applicability of family group conferencing (FGC) as a youth justice intervention in South Africa by adopting a qualitative methodology. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 multi-professional youth justice practitioners (social workers, psychologists, educationists, legal practitioners) who have experience in the use of restorative justice interventions in South Africa. Although data saturation was achieved, the small sample size due to the limited research and application of FGC in South Africa is recognised as a limitation in the study. The findings showed good endorsement for the use of FGC within the South African youth justice context due to family and victim inclusion, its reparation aims, as well as culture and context adaptability. Additionally, the suitability of FGC as a youth justice intervention was acknowledged due to its promoting accountability and behaviour modification. It is recommended that the judiciary and community members must be educated on the alternative options available to deal with children who come into conflict with the law in order to act in the best interest of youth offenders. The need for more comprehensive research in which both service providers and clients are included is recognised in the article.

YOT Talk: Examining the communicative influences on children’s engagement with youth justice assessment processes

This article presents an evidence-based analysis of the communicative influences on children’s engagement in the Youth Justice System of England and Wales. The multidisciplinary criminologist–linguist ‘YOT Talk’ project utilized Svalberg’s (2009) dimensions of engagement (cognitive, affective, social; augmented by behavioural) to explore the enablers of, and barriers to, children’s engagement with youth justice assessment processes. A tripartite mixed methodology of observation of assessment interviews, questionnaires with children in the Youth Justice System and youth justice practitioners, and focus groups with practitioners was implemented across three Youth Offending Teams in England and Wales. Analyses synergized methods from conversation analysis and corpus linguistics. Findings inform recommendations for refocusing youth justice assessment and staff training on facilitating children’s communicative engagement (that is, enhancing enablers and removing/minimizing barriers). These findings and recommendations challenge asymmetrical (adult-centric) power dynamics during assessment interviews and challenge perceptions of children’s communicative deficits as irreconcilable barriers to effective assessment.

Offending Girls and Restorative Justice: A Critical Analysis

The contemporary popularity of restorative justice, within youth justice, has expanded significantly in recent decades. Despite this, there is a considerable lack of research which explores girls’ experiences of restorative justice interventions. Drawing on the experiences of young female offenders, who have participated in restorative justice conferencing, this article presents research findings generated from interviews undertaken with 15 girls and 13 youth justice practitioners, in order to critically analyse their views and experiences through a gendered lens. The analysis and discussion presented provides a critical insight into the ways in which girls’ experience, internalise and engage in restorative justice conferencing and how these experiences fundamentally conflict with practitioners’ views on conferencing with girls in the youth justice system.

Youth Justice, Black Children and Young Men in Liverpool: A Story of Rac(ism), Identity and Contested Spaces

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.

The Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility: The Need for a Holistic Approach

The minimum age of criminal responsibility in England and Wales remains 10 years: something which has attracted criticism globally by policy makers and youth justice practitioners. Yet, the Westminster Government refuses to consider changes to minimum age of criminal responsibility, despite evidence supporting reform. This article, drawing on the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child’s consultation to revise General Comment No. 10 (2007) and the activities of UK devolved administrations, explores the need for minimum age of criminal responsibility reform, considering how a holistic approach focused on diversion and the provision of rights respecting appropriate interventions can create positive, even transformative outcomes for children.

Connectors, Horizon Stretchers, Outsiders: Youth Justice Practitioners in Rural England

This article advances research on the practice of youth justice in rural contexts. Drawing on Ingold’s dwelling perspective, and empirical research with youth justice practitioners in rural England, we explore how practitioners develop their practice through their relationships to their rural working environments. We find that through these relationships, practitioners develop themselves as ‘connectors’, aiming to reduce the impact of Fordshire’s remoteness and isolation on young people; as ‘horizon stretchers’, seeking to raise aspirations and broaden imaginations; but often find themselves to be ‘outsiders’ in relation to rural communities. Accordingly, we argue that youth justice work is infused with the lived realities of the contexts in which it is practised and that ongoing debates over the localization of youth justice must take this into account.

Desistance Approaches in Youth Justice – The Next Passing Fad or a Sea-Change for the Positive?

Youth justice in England and Wales has followed a risk-orientated model for almost two decades, requiring interventions with young people to mitigate assessed risk factors for offending. The desistance revolution evident in much of the adult system and research has been slow to influence change. The Youth Justice Board recently established the desistance-led AssetPlus assessment model, proclaiming that it will facilitate this change. However, youth justice practitioners appear not to have been able to apply desistance theory, resulting in ‘business as usual’ assessments and deficit-focused intervention plans. How can desistance be truly embedded in a system still dominated by risk?

Practice Notes: Understanding the purpose of youth justice in New Zealand

The administration of justice can become an arid procedural concern when practitioners lose sight of purpose. This article focuses on the purposes of the youth justice provisions of the Children, Young Persons and Their Families Act 1989. After traversing New Zealand’s historical responses to children who offend and contrasting the conceptual underpinnings of those approaches with current legislation, the article identifies the three key aims of youth justice reform which took place during the late 1980s – providing due process guarantees; finding alternatives to enmeshing young people and their families in the formal criminal justice system; and promoting culturally respectful processes. The author argues that almost all of the procedures of the legislation link to one or other of these aims and by understanding these linkages, all youth justice practitioners – judges, legal advocates, coordinators, social workers, police and community service providers – can ensure the intentions of the law are not lost in the exigencies of the day-to-day activity. The article concludes by proposing that all youth justice practitioners, in addition to their role-specific functions, have a collective responsibility to ensure the mandate of the law is given effect.

Holding the Child (and Practitioner) in Mind? Youth Justice Practitioners' Experiences Supervising Young People Displaying Sexually Harmful Behavior.

This qualitative study explored the lived experiences of youth justice practitioners supervising young people (below 18 years old) displaying sexually harmful behavior within the Youth Justice System (YJS) in the United Kingdom, as little is currently known about the challenges faced when working with this vulnerable group. Five practitioners from two Youth Offending Services (YOS) participated in individual semistructured interviews, which were subjected to thematic analysis while also analyzing the performative function of language used. The analysis identified an overarching theme of "systemic unease," which contained two subthemes surrounding "unease with the self, and wider YOS personnel" and "unease working with partner agencies." The findings illuminate critical issues regarding future practice with this underresearched group of young people within the broader context of youth justice, which require further exploration and investigation. The "dual relationship problem" involving tension between risk management and therapeutic alliance is explored in relation to this group. The moral acquaintance model and the model of dynamic adaptation are suggested as helpful approaches to support practitioners and multi-agency professionals going forward in this area.

Diverse Diversions: Youth Justice Reform, Localized Practices, and a ‘New Interventionist Diversion’?

The recent resurgence of practices aimed at ‘diverting’ young people from prosecution appears to suggest a sea change from the interventionism which characterized New Labour’s approach to young law-breakers. Drawing on interviews with youth justice practitioners at two sites in England, we argue this is overly simplistic, since the ‘interventionist diversion’ they describe reflects the continued influence of New Labour reforms, as well as older approaches. We conclude that more empirical research is needed to establish where such interventions sit within the broader – and increasingly localized – landscape of support provision, as well as the consequences of providing ‘welfare’ in this way.

Strategic complexities and opportunities in Welsh youth justice: exploring YJB Cymru

Purpose – The paper presents and discusses the findings of a Strategic Insight Programme placement that explored the Youth Justice Board for Wales (YJB Cymru), a division of the YJB for England and Wales since the abolition of the regional structure in April 2012. The focus of the placement was on exploring the role of YJB Cymru in the development of youth justice policy and practice in the unique, partially devolved context of Wales. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – The research was conducted over a six-month period from February to July 2013. A multiple methods design was adopted, consisting of semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders (YJB Cymru staff, Welsh Government staff and Youth Offending Team staff), observations of policy and practice mechanisms (YJB Cymru meetings, YOT projects) and documentary analysis of YJB Cymru publications. Findings – Thematic analyses demonstrated that YJB Cymru has an increasingly important role in policy and practice development structures and processes in England and Wales more broadly (e.g. within the YJB for England and Wales) and in the Welsh national context specifically. YJB Cymru fulfills a role of dual influence – working both with government (UK and Welsh) and youth justice practitioners (mainly YOT managers and staff) to mediate and manage youth justice tensions in the partially devolved Welsh policy context through relationships of reflective and critical engagement. Originality/value – This study draws inspiration from the groundbreaking research of Souhami (2011) and builds on those findings to provide a unique insight into the organisation and role YJB Cymru in the complex and dynamic context of youth justice in Wales.

Accommodation and youth crime

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine a number of the problems young people face in respect of their living arrangements and how these difficulties can impact on them and the decisions that are made when they are involved in the criminal justice system. It discusses some of the problems that have to be overcome, the role of youth offending teams and some of the initiatives that have been developed to address young people's needs.Design/methodology/approach – It is a literature review based on research the author has undertaken over the last decade that incorporates the findings of other research, obtained from research reports, project evaluations, thematic inspections and contributions from the voluntary sector. It also refers to findings from analysis of Asset data. Asset is a standardised assessment tool used by youth justice practitioners in youth offending teams to identify risk factors that will be addressed in supervision of young people subject to statutory orders.Findings – The paper ...

‘It was about trust’– Practitioners as policy makers and the improvement of inter-professional communication within the 1980s youth justice process

The study of criminal justice policy making is generally approached from the perspective of structural variables (eg social, cultural or economic), or, if inclined towards agency-led approaches, on the policy making activities of ‘elites’. The potential of practitioners to shape policy has been relatively neglected. This paper explores a striking example of practitioner-led criminal justice policy transformation: the decline in the use of custody for juveniles in England and Wales in the 1980s. The focus of the study is on the communicative origins of a philosophical turnaround in youth justice localities through the empowerment of youth justice practitioners. Drawing on empirical sources (including reflective interviews with key participant-observers) the paper explores, in depth, the occurrence and the meaning of local structural transformations. It is argued that the emergence of trust relations between participants in local youth justice processes was the key development behind the transformation of the state of penal culture towards one of ‘communicative rationality’ which, in turn, enabled the dramatic reduction in the use of custody. It is suggested that proponents of more moderate penal policy could draw valuable lessons from this episode.