Youth Justice System In England Research Articles

A Question of Age? Applying Desistance With Children

Youth justice in England and Wales has seen the increasing adoption of desistance thinking in recent years. There has been scarce academic debate of this development, despite the desistance evidence base focussing on adult pathways away from crime. This article examines the theorisation and application of desistance thinking with children, centring on the experiences and narratives of four ‘groups’ involved in the formal youth justice system in England and Wales, across two empirical studies. It challenges previous scholarship that denies the relevance of desistance theories to under-18s, arguing for progressive desistance practice that prioritises children’s healthy long-term development.

The impact of employment upon young offenders’ identities

AbstractWhile numbers of first‐time entrants have decreased dramatically in the last decade, young people remaining in the youth justice system in England and Wales today are the most persistent, troubled offenders. Research suggests that the formation of a non‐offending or ‘prosocial’ identity is crucial for desistance among persistent offenders. This article examines how engaging in an employment programme at a social enterprise influenced the identity of offenders aged 16–18 years. Young people's self‐narratives reveal that although none possessed a strong criminal identity, they developed a more coherent prosocial identity during their employment. This can be attributed to how the employment programme reduced the social exclusion experienced by employees, demonstrating the value of such opportunities for youths.

Governance Through Diversion in Neoliberal Times and the Possibilities for Transformative Social Justice

Over the last decade, the dramatic increase in the number of young people diverted from formal processing through the youth justice system in England and Wales, and the equally sharp drop in the rate of youth custody suggest that the neoliberal formula for the penal governance of young people who offend has been undergoing significant reshaping. This article draws on research which interrogates the changes that are currently taking place, particularly the proliferation of “out of court” community-based measures of diversion and offense resolution, to develop a more fine-tuned conceptualization of the complexities of neoliberal youth penality. We base our findings principally on England and Wales, although it is likely that our analysis is applicable in other settings. With the extensive reduction in the capacity of the state to exert direct measures of institutional and community-based coercion, we seek to identify other, less overt processes that also aspire to maintain order and reproduce social relations favorable to the neoliberal project. In lieu of ending on a purely pessimistic note, we conclude with a brief outline of the potential for alternative, progressive strategies that seek to challenge rather than simply modify or incorporate previous modes of regulation and control.

Black and Minority Ethnic Boys and Custody in England and Wales: Understanding Subjective Experiences through an Analysis of Official Data

Recent years have seen a dramatic shift in youth justice outcomes and a fall in the number of children drawn into the youth justice system in England and Wales. However, it appears that children from some backgrounds have not benefited as much as others from this change. There is a wealth of academic literature on processes of criminalisation, policies, and practices of youth justice and the experiences of children, particularly boys, in custody. However, there is little detailed understanding of how these processes, policies, and practices affect children from different backgrounds. This paper examines the most intrusive aspect of youth justice, namely, custodial sentences. Through an examination of the Inspectorate of Prisons’ reports and associated surveys, this paper seeks to explore black and minority ethnic boys’ perceptions of their experiences of custody.

The Continuing Chronology of Confusion

International human rights law states that child well-being must be paramount. The aims of the Youth Justice System in England and Wales should reflect this, but the present system fails to do so as its aims are various and lack coherence. This article argues that this incoherence emanates from an apparent conflict between welfare and crime prevention. The authors argue that this dichotomy is false if one recognises that crime will only be prevented by prioritising the welfare and well-being of the child offender. Adopting this approach would satisfy international obligations and reduce the risk of offending and reoffending.

Child criminalisation and the mistake of early intervention

On January 26, 2007, Professor Rod Morgan signed as Chairperson of the Youth Justice Board (YJB). In an open letter distributed widely, Morgan explained that the youth justice system in England and...

Community-based forensic child and adolescent mental health services in England, Scotland and Wales: a national mapping exercise

Aim: We sought to ascertain the current nature of specialist community mental health provision for young people presenting with risk of harm to others or involvement with the youth justice system in England, Wales and Scotland. Methods: Questionnaire-based survey. Results: Fifty-five services were contacted, 48 responded and 35 of these were found to be providing some form of community mental health provision to high-risk young people. Thirteen services provided comprehensive community forensic child and adolescent mental health (FCAMH) services, whilst the remainder offered more ad hoc clinical input. Amongst the comprehensive FCAMH services, staffing, function, commissioning arrangements and population served varied widely. Conclusions: There is patchy geographical provision of comprehensive community FCAMH services across England, Scotland and Wales with heterogeneous commissioning arrangements, staffing and function. Development of a national commissioning strategy for community FCAMH services is required to ensure that the complex needs of high-risk young people are adequately addressed.

Up or down and out? A systemic analysis of young people's educational pathways in the youth justice system in England and Wales

Many young people in the youth justice system in England and Wales are educationally marginalised and systemic barriers to their engagement with education persist. This article presents an analytical framework for understanding how education and youth justice practices shape young people's educational pathways during their time in the youth justice system with the aim of understanding the systemic dynamics that encourage or impede young people's engagement with education. It draws on data from a case study of 32 young people who were serving either a community or a custodial sentence under the supervision of one youth offending team in England and Wales. Using as analytical starting points Bourdieu's and Wacquant's conceptualisations of competing dynamics within the ‘bureaucratic field’ of state governance and Hodkinson's careership theory, this article discusses the interplay between exclusionary and inclusionary interests operating within and between the agencies of education and youth justice and the extent to which they play a role in sustaining young people's involvement in education or compounding their educational and social marginalisation.

Asset: An assessment tool that safeguards or stigmatizes young offenders?

This article explores the practice implications of Asset, the Youth Justice Board assessment tool. Consideration is given to its origin, the wider political and organizational culture in which it exists, how the tool shapes the provision of services and the treatment of children and families. The article makes comparisons with the Assessment Framework and Every Child Matters agenda to reflect upon safeguarding and anti-oppressive practice issues. Alternative approaches to youth offending are explored to consider what can be learnt from their implementation into the youth justice system in England and Wales.

Youth Justice Reform: Redressing Age Discrimination against Children?

This article considers whether the system of reprimands and final warnings in the youth justice system in England and Wales constitutes age discrimination for the purposes of human rights law. Whilst much youth justice discourse has addressed the use of diversionary measures that steer children away from formal justice processes, little attention has been paid to measures which negatively discriminate against children, in comparison to adults, without reasonable justification. The discussion contextualizes the issue within discourses on the sociology of childhood and youth justice, and considers why there is a general reluctance to recognize children as ‘victims’ of age discrimination.

“Let no one despise your youth”

PurposeThe youth justice system in England and Wales has been subjected to numerous transformations since 1997 under New Labour governments. Most approaches to the field during the period under review address the fine details of what is a politically and organisationally modernised domain. Even though this paper steps inside the system to observe some of its transformative developments, it aims to begin at the other end which enables a more rounded sociological approach to youth justice under New Labour to emerge which facilitates the production of a more detailed evaluation and understanding of the field.Design/methodology/approachThis other‐end approach draws upon two main bodies of sociological theory, namely, Max Weber and Emile Durkheim, which are put to work to enrich the analysis. It should be made clear that the main concern is not to produce a blueprint for a new youth justice system, but rather to draw attention to some exploratory and explanatory tools to evaluate the period under New Labour from 1997 to 2010.FindingsSince 1997, the focus of the youth justice system has been placed upon individual and family responsibility, tougher on crime than its causes, and the creation of more efficient systems management. Furthermore, youth and criminal justice has been preoccupied with risk assessment and prediction. This has resulted in a system that is ambiguous in terms of what it is trying to achieve.Originality/valueThe main concern is not to sketch a blueprint for the future, but rather to analyse features of youth justice to which these theoretical and sociological traditions of Weber and Durkheim are explored in order to explain the complex dynamics of youth justice make a substantive contribution by enlarging our critical understanding.

‘We Now Breach More Kids in a Week Than We Used to in a Whole Year’: The Punitive Turn, Enforcement and Custody

The high rates of child incarceration that have characterized the youth justice system in England and Wales for almost two decades are frequently attributed to the impact of a punitive turn in the early part of the 1990s. While previous authors have considered the mediating influence of legislative shifts and changing patterns of sentencer decision-making, it has nonetheless been argued that analyses of the mechanisms that link punitivism and youth custody remain underdeveloped. The current article focuses on the role of enforcement as an indicator of changes in youth justice practitioner culture to explore how practice has become less tolerant in the face of a harsher environment towards children in conflict with the law.

Alternative models of youth justice: lessons from Scotland and Northern Ireland

PurposeWidespread criticism of the youth justice system in England and Wales has resulted in calls for it to adopt a restorative paradigm. This paper seeks to review the historical development of youth justice in neighbouring Scotland and Northern Ireland.Design/methodology/approachThe historical development of youth justice in Scotland and Northern Ireland is reviewed with a view to learning lessons from these two very different models, compared to the current model in England and Wales.FindingsIt is argued that those tasked with reforming the system in England and Wales must understand the underlying political, cultural and social contexts in which alternative models have developed and satisfactorily resolve the conflicting needs and rights of the offender versus those of the victim, community and wider public.Originality/valueTransfer of policy and practice from other jurisdictions requires careful consideration of their political, cultural and social contexts but England and Wales may benefit greatly from adopting restorative practices similar to those in Northern Ireland. However, successful implementation will depend on political will and institutional infrastructure.

Youth Justice in England and Wales: A Risky Business

Risk factor research dominates explanatory models of youth offending and “evidence-based” policy and practice with young people in the youth justice system in England and Wales. Asset is the product of these actuarial ideas and has put the risk factor prevention paradigm into practice. This article evaluates the impact that an actuarial approach to assessment has had on both the representation of young people who offend and the way in which their behavior is explained and responded to. It describes the factors that led to the introduction of Asset, before briefly summarizing the positive assessments of Asset. It is contended that the “achievement” of actuarialism in youth justice is to render arbitrary and discriminatory practices acceptable, and apparently rational.

‘Time for a Fresh Start’, but is this it? A Critical Assessment of The Report of the Independent Commission on Youth Crime and Antisocial Behaviour

In 2010, the Independent Commission on Youth Crime and Antisocial Behaviour published a major report entitled Time for a Fresh Start (Independent Commission on Youth Crime and Antisocial Behaviour, 2010). The Commission’s report exposes the youth justice system in England and Wales to critical scrutiny. During the course of its inquiries the Commission consulted with, and/or received ‘evidence’ from, over 170 individuals and organizations. At the conclusion of the same inquiries, the report was published alongside a companion volume entitled A New Response to Youth Crime (Smith, 2010). The titles of the report and its accompanying book leave little to the imagination; the Commission clearly believes that a ‘fresh start’ and/or a ‘new response’ to youth crime and youth justice are needed in England and Wales. Informed by a long-term research project centred on national and international youth justice theory, law, policy and practice, this article focuses exclusively upon the Commission’s report and subjects it to critical assessment. Whilst endorsing the Commission’s perceived need for change, the article presents a detailed critique of its ‘alternative’ vision. It concludes by raising core questions pertaining to youth justice policy formation and the politics of policy influence.

Restorative justice, rhetoric, or reality? Conferencing with young offenders

This article explores the contemporary introduction of restorative justice into the youth justice system in England. Specifically, the research investigates referral orders, and discusses how this new system is functioning ‘on the ground’ several years after implementation. The findings are based on a qualitative, in‐depth study of one Youth Offending Team. This research concludes that even following an ideological commitment to incorporate restorative justice principles into the youth justice system, the transition to a practical realization of those principles has not been entirely successful. At present, conferencing is falling short in two key areas – victim participation and lack of a relationship between community members and young offenders – due to poor community representation and training and to community members’ coercive tactics.

Questioning the `Evidence' of Risk that Underpins Evidence-led Youth Justice Interventions

In this article, I evaluate the Risk Factor Prevention Paradigm (RFPP) as employed in risk-focused research and risk assessment in the Youth Justice System in England and Wales and elsewhere. This paradigm has been criticized as theoretically and methodologically flawed, static, limited in scope and subject to political manipulation. Criticisms are explicated and evaluated, then counter-balanced with discussions of the methodological robustness and empirical successes of the paradigm. I conclude by recommending that quantitative risk-focused research is supplemented with routine qualitative consultation of neglected stakeholders (youth justice practitioners, young people) and that evidence of risk is interpreted, utilized and disseminated in a more valid, realistic manner.

Daring to Dream: Towards an Understanding of Young Black People’s Reflections Post-custody

This article presents the findings of a post-custody study undertaken on behalf of the Children’s Society (a major NGO in England) which was part of the larger Just Justice programme that charted the experiences of young black people in the youth justice system in England and Wales (Wilson and Rees, 2006). It attempts to link the participants’ law-breaking behaviour to the structures of inequality within which they live their lives. Whilst the findings evidence the inappropriateness of penal custody for these young people, the data also offer the prospect of more positive outcomes in the future

Young Offenders: Children in Need of Protection*

The Institute of Public Policy Research recommended that the government in England and Wales should establish a unified youth justice system, based on the Scottish Reporter system, for assessing the nature of intervention needed by young offenders. This article examines the Scottish youth justice system, the French youth justice system, and the youth justice system in England and Wales. The article contends that in England and Wales there already exists an agency and a legislative framework, similar to the Scottish and French examples, which has the power to assess the nature of intervention needed by young offenders and which has the authority to require that appropriate welfare or support services be provided. Therefore a new legislative framework is unnecessary; instead attention should be paid to the proper resourcing of the current system.

Joined-Up Services to Tackle Youth Crime: A Case-Study in England

The ubiquitous theme of 'joined-up' services in UK government thinking is exemplified by recent reforms to the youth justice system in England and Wales. Previous research on multi-agency approaches has distinguished between 'benevolent' and 'conspiratorial' interpretations of joined-up criminal justice and has identified complexities in turning the rhetoric into reality. In line with conspiratorial perspectives, New Labour's changes to the youth justice system have been seen as evidence of further departure from welfare-based work, towards increased punitiveness and managerialism. This paper reports findings from an in-depth case-study of one youth offending team and its partnerships, exploring the realities of collaboration on three levels: core practice; specialist projects; and strategic management. It was found that the social work ethic has survived this overhaul of the youth justice system.