A joint inspectorate report criticized the work of youth offending teams with children in care in England and Wales. It said that the children concerned were left ill-equipped to lead productive and law-abiding lives.
Source: Looked After Children: An inspection of the work of Youth Offending Teams with children and young people who are looked after and placed away from home, HM Chief Inspector of Probation/Ofsted/Estyn
Links: Report | Inspectorate press release | Action for Children press release | Childrens Society press release | Labour Party press release | LGA press release | T2A press release | BBC report | Daily Mail report | Guardian report | Public Finance report | Telegraph report
Date: 2012-Dec
An article examined young people's perspectives on anti-social behaviour (ASB), based on research in disadvantaged neighbourhoods in Glasgow (Scotland). Young people found themselves in a 'no win' situation regarding their association with ASB. Participation in ASB and attempts to avoid such involvement were both seen to involve negative consequences: participation could entail violence and spatial restrictions linked to territoriality, but avoidance could lead to being ostracized from their peer group. Regardless of involvement, young people felt that adults stereotyped them as anti-social.
Source: Joanne Neary, Matt Egan, Peter Keenan, Louise Lawson, and Lyndal Bond, 'Damned if they do, damned if they don't: negotiating the tricky context of anti-social behaviour and keeping safe in disadvantaged urban neighbourhoods', Journal of Youth Studies, Volume 16 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Dec
A report for the children's rights watchdog in Northern Ireland examined the role of 'significant adults' in the lives of children and young people in contact with the criminal justice system. It outlined a series of recommendations which included the need for sustainable, long-term funding for organizations providing mentoring support to young people.
Source: Agnieszka Martynowicz, Linda Moore, and Azrini Wahidin, 'She s a Legend': The role of significant adults in the lives of children and young people in contact with the criminal justice system, Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People
Links: Report | NICCY press release
Date: 2012-Dec
Researchers reviewed the evidence on whether criminal justice/correctional services interventions for juvenile offenders led to a reduction in offending.
Source: Mark Newman, Carol Vigurs, Amanda Perry, Glyn Hallam, Elizabeth Schertler, Mathew Johnson, and Ruth Wall, A Systematic Review of Selected Interventions to Reduce Juvenile Re-Offending, Report 008, EPPI-Centre (Institute of Education/University of London)
Links: Report | Summary | Technical report
Date: 2012-Nov
An article examined the links between child sexual exploitation and youth offending. 40 per cent of victims of child sexual exploitation had offending records.
Source: Ella Cockbain and Helen Brayley, 'Child sexual exploitation and youth offending: a research note', European Journal of Criminology, Volume 9 Number 6
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Nov
An article examined the role that formal and informal regulation played in the development of the identity of young offenders. Cultural practices of formal orders (such as those imposed by schools and the police) and informal orders (such as the rules governing peer interactions) have similar effects on young people. Being excluded by either set of orders undermined the capacity of the individual to negotiate, limited autonomy, and constrained choice. This rendered the individual more likely to absorb identities ascribed to them, with damaging consequences in terms of offending behaviour and the individual s sense of self.
Source: Lesley McAra and Susan McVie, 'Negotiated order: the groundwork for a theory of offending pathways', Criminology and Criminal Justice, Volume 12 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Nov
A report examined children s experiences of violence in custody, and set out their suggestions for creating violence-free custodial settings.
Source: Ending Violence against Children in Custody: Findings from research with children and young people, Children's Rights Alliance for England
Links: Report | CRAE press release
Date: 2012-Nov
A report examined the experiences and treatment of children and young people who had died in prison custody in England and Wales. The young people concerned had been some of the most disadvantaged in society, and had had significant interaction with community agencies before entering prison. But in many cases there had been failures in communication and information exchange between prisons and other agencies. Despite their vulnerability, the young people had not been diverted out of the criminal justice system at an early stage. They had been failed by the systems set up to safeguard them from harm.
Source: Anna Edmundson, Deborah Coles, Rebecca Nadin, and Jessica Jacobson, Fatally Flawed: Has the state learned lessons from the deaths of children and young people in prison?, Prison Reform Trust/INQUEST
Links: Report | PRT press release | Action for Children press release | OCC press release | Guardian report | Huffington Post report
Date: 2012-Oct
An article examined recent changes to youth justice, focusing on the impact of the coalition government's public sector reform programme. It considered how well the reforms protected the criminal justice rights of the child, and whether they promoted government accountability. It also discussed the relationship between the reforms, children's citizenship, and the reciprocity necessary in criminal responsibility.
Source: Kathryn Hollingsworth, 'Youth justice reform in the "big society"', Journal of Social Welfare & Family Law, Volume 34 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Oct
A new book examined what constituted compliance – and how non-compliance was responded to – in the context of supervising young offenders in the community, drawing on empirical research from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Source: Mairead Seymour, Youth Justice in Context: Community, compliance and young people, Routledge
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Oct
A joint inspectorate report said that efforts to help young people in the criminal justice system move from youth services to adult services at age 18 needed to improve. There needed to be more effective processes and greater use of professional judgement so that young people were better informed and involved, continuity was maintained, and work with young people to reduce reoffending and promote rehabilitation was not disrupted.
Source: Transitions: An inspection of the transition arrangements from youth to adult services in the criminal justice system, HM Chief Inspector of Probation/HM Inspectorate of Prisons/Care Quality Commission/Estyn/Healthcare Inspectorate Wales/Ofsted
Links: Report | HCI Probation press release | Catch22 press release
Date: 2012-Oct
A report for the children's watchdog for England highlighted the large numbers of young people in children's prisons in England who had neuro-developmental difficulties, such as brain injuries, that could result in communication difficulties, cognitive delays, learning difficulties, and emotional and behavioural problems. The watchdog called for earlier recognition of, and vital improvements in the treatment and support of, young people with neurological conditions.
Source: Nathan Hughes, Huw Williams, Prathiba Chitsabean, Rebecca Davies, and Luke Mounce, Nobody Made the Connection: The prevalence of neurodisability in young people who offend, Office of the Children's Commissioner
Links: Report | OCC press release | BBC report
Date: 2012-Oct
The Welsh Government began consultation on proposals to improve youth justice services in Wales, and to identify if there was a need for a Prevention of Youth Offending (Wales) Bill.
Source: Proposals to Improve Services in Wales to Better Meet the Needs of Children and Young People Who Are at Risk of Entering, or Are Already in, the Youth Justice System: Green Paper, Welsh Government
Links: Consultation document | Welsh Government press release
Date: 2012-Sep
A new book examined the transition from juvenile to adult crime in Europe and the United States of America. It called for special legal provisions for offenders aged 18-24.
Source: Rolf Loeber and David Farrington (eds), From Juvenile Delinquency to Adult Crime: Criminal careers, justice policy and prevention, Oxford University Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Jul
A report by an all-party group of MPs said that there was a lack of awareness among magistrates of the specific needs of girls, that courts confused welfare needs with high risk of reoffending and as a result increased the severity of the sentence, and that there was a lack of gender-specific services for girls once sentenced.
Source: Inquiry on Girls: From courts to custody, All-Party Parliamentary Group on Women in the Penal System
Links: Report | HLPR press release
Date: 2012-Jul
An article said that recent developments in youth justice policy (and anti-social behaviour policy specifically) reflected a consolidation and escalation of the criminalization of social policy in England and Wales. Criminalizing interventions such as dispersal/direction powers were likely to promote children's hostility and exclusion from a law-abiding citizenship, and to extend the criminalization net.
Source: Janet Jamieson, 'Bleak times for children? The anti-social behaviour agenda and the criminalization of social policy', Social Policy and Administration, Volume 46 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jul
An article said that targeted youth projects often benefited participants: but that over-stating their ability to prevent crime and anti-social behaviour could be problematic. Voluntary services with limited resources ultimately focused on receptive young people: but pressure to justify funding encouraged practitioners, programme managers, and policy-makers to highlight the 'riskiness' of participants and publicize the most striking successes. Such practices could serve to consolidate negative representations of the risk posed by young people, and lead to the neglect of alternative justifications for youth provision.
Source: Laura Kelly, 'Representing and preventing youth crime and disorder: intended and unintended consequences of targeted youth programmes in England', Youth Justice, Volume 12 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jul
An inspectorate report in Northern Ireland said that without a commitment from ministers and those responsible for health and social care, education, and criminal justice to implement an early intervention approach, Northern Ireland would not be able to effectively tackle the problems emerging for at-risk children, young people, and their families.
Source: Early Youth Interventions: An inspection of the contribution the criminal justice agencies in Northern Ireland make to preventing children and young people from entering the criminal justice system, Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland
Links: Report | CJINI press release | NICCY press release | BBC report
Date: 2012-Jul
A report outlined the views of children and young people on the complaints process in the youth justice system, and made a number of recommendations for reform.
Source: User Voice, 'Why Are they Going to Listen to Me?', Office of the Children's Commissioner
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Jul
An article examined the challenges and opportunities presented by the coalition government's youth justice policies, and the implications for children living in marginalized communities. The austerity measures offered an opportunity to re-examine 'costly and counter-productive' institutional practices and to reverse the broader criminalization of social policy. But in terms of social justice they were leading to a radical reduction in services to the poorest children and young people.
Source: Joe Yates, 'What prospects youth justice? Children in trouble in the age of austerity', Social Policy and Administration, Volume 46 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jul
A paper presented findings from focus groups that explored public attitudes to youth crime. The topics included the respondents' views on the extent of crime and anti-social behaviour in the local community; appropriate disposals for young offenders; and volunteering and the role of the community in supporting youth justice. Participants felt that youth crime had a destructive effect on their neighbourhoods. However, there was substantial support for tackling low-level, first-time offending by young offenders without resort to formal prosecution. Although some respondents did volunteer, there were differing views about the challenges of working with 'hard-to-reach' young people in the community.
Source: Jessica Jacobson and Amy Kirby, Public Attitudes to Youth Crime: Report on focus group research, Occasional Paper 105, Home Office
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Jul
An article examined the long-term needs and mental health of an initial sample of male juvenile offenders, as adults 6 years after their admission to secure care. The majority of offenders were single, and about one-half were in neither employment nor training. Almost 9 out of 10 offenders had a substance misuse disorder, and a similar number met the criteria for a diagnosis of anti-social personality disorder. Substance misuse in adolescence was strongly correlated with later substance misuse in adulthood, emphasizing the importance of early intervention.
Source: Prathiba Chitsabesan, Justine Rothwell, Cassandra Kenning, Heather Law, Lesley-Ann Carter, Sue Bailey, and Andrew Clark, 'Six years on: a prospective cohort study of male juvenile offenders in secure care', European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Volume 21 Number 6
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jun
A paper presented new evidence on the causal impact of education on crime, by considering the expansion of post-compulsory education in the late 1980s and early 1990s. At the same time as the education expansion, youth crime had fallen, revealing a significant cross-cohort relationship. The causal crime-reducing effect of education was estimated to be negative and significant, and considerably bigger in (absolute) magnitude than ordinary least squares estimates. The education boost also significantly affected other productivity-related economic variables (qualification attainment and wages), demonstrating that the incapacitation effect of additional time spent in school was not the sole driver of the results.
Source: Stephen Machin, Olivier Marie, and Suncica Vujic, Youth Crime and Education Expansion, Discussion Paper 6582, Institute for the Study of Labor (Bonn)
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Jun
A report identified ten points in the criminal justice process where a more rigorous and effective approach could be delivered for young adults and young people (aged 16-24) in the transition to adulthood.
Source: Pathways from Crime: Ten steps to a more effective approach for young adults in the criminal justice process, Transition to Adulthood Alliance
Links: Report | Summary | T2A press release | Catch22 press release | CMH press release
Date: 2012-May
A new book presented the findings of a major longitudinal study involving a cohort of 700 young people from the age of 12, and introduced a new theory and methodology in the study of the role of the social environment in crime causation.
Source: Per-Olof Wikstrom, Dietrich Oberwittler, Kyle Treiber, and Beth Hardie, Breaking Rules: The social and situational dynamics of young people's urban crime, Oxford University Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-May
An article examined youth justice practice in relation to girls who were engaged in youth justice processes or 'at risk' of criminal involvement. Girls were drawn into the system for welfare rather than crime-related matters; and youth justice policy and practice seemed to negate girls' gender-specific needs. Youth justice policy and practice needed to be redeveloped in favour of incorporating gender-specific practices centred on children and young people.
Source: Sean Creaney, 'Risk, prevention and early intervention: youth justice responses to girls', Safer Communities, Volume 11 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-May
A new book examined the treatment of young adults aged 18-21 in the criminal justice system.
Source: Friedrich Losel, Anthony Bottoms, and David Farrington, Young Adult Offenders: Lost in Transition?, Routledge
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-May
An article examined the recent fall in child custody rates in England and Wales. It said that parallels could be drawn with the decline in child imprisonment during the 1980s. In particular, increased diversion and a depoliticization of youth crime had contributed to more tolerant decision-making within the court arena. An assessment of the prospect for future trends was provided in the light of the riots of August 2011.
Source: Tim Bateman, 'Who pulled the plug? Towards an explanation of the fall in child imprisonment in England and Wales', Youth Justice, Volume 12 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Apr
An article examined whether the system of reprimands and final warnings in the youth justice system in England and Wales constituted age discrimination for the purposes of human rights law. Although much youth justice discourse had addressed the use of diversionary measures that steered children away from formal justice processes, little attention had been paid to measures that negatively discriminated against children, in comparison to adults, without reasonable justification. The author considered why there was a general reluctance to recognize children as 'victims' of age discrimination.
Source: Simon Flacks, 'Youth justice reform: redressing age discrimination against children?', Youth Justice, Volume 12 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Apr
A report examined the extent of (and perceptions towards) hate crime; use of the internet and cyber security; and the experience of crime among children aged 10-15.
Source: Kevin Smith (ed.), Deborah Lader, Jacqueline Hoare, and and Ivy Lau, Hate Crime, Cyber Security and the Experience of Crime Among Children: Findings from the 2010/11 British Crime Survey – Supplementary Volume 3 to Crime in England and Wales 2010/11, Statistical Bulletin 06/12, Home Office
Links: Bulletin | Home Office press release
Date: 2012-Mar
Researchers evaluated a pilot scheme designed to enhance health provision within the youth justice system, and to facilitate early help for children and young people with mental health and developmental problems, speech and communication difficulties, learning disabilities, and other similar vulnerabilities.
Source: Alina Haines et al., Evaluation of the Youth Justice Liaison and Diversion (YJLD) Pilot Scheme: Final Report, Department of Health
Links: Report | Summary | Appendices
Date: 2012-Mar
A new book outlined a new approach to youth offending, focusing on the rights and needs of young people in troubled circumstances and their families. It said that improving the family environment could be the most effective and enduring strategy for combating juvenile delinquency and associated behavioural, social, and emotional problems.
Source: Raymond Arthur, Family Life and Youth Offending: Home is where the hurt is, Routledge
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Mar
An article compared the Taiwanese and English youth justice systems. The Taiwanese approach had the welfare of the young person/child as its focus, but in a paternalistic way – in contrast to England where surveillance, control, and formal prevention were regarded as of paramount importance.
Source: Graham Brooks, Fei-Lin Chen, Chris Lewis, and Tom Ellis, 'Young people as social capital: policing and preventing crime among young people "at risk" in Taiwan and England', Crime Prevention & Community Safety, Volume 14 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Feb
The coalition government responded to a report by a committee of MPs on the proposed abolition of the Youth Justice Board. It explained its decision not to proceed with the proposal.
Source: Government Response to the Justice Committee s Report: The Proposed Abolition of the Youth Justice Board, Cm 8257, Ministry of Justice, TSO
Links: Response
Notes: MPs report (November 2011)
Date: 2012-Jan
A think-tank report said that the youth justice system was being treated as a 'dumping ground' for problem youngsters, and was expected to sweep up cases that other council services, such as social services, had failed to address. Too many children were being taken before the youth courts for trivial reasons. Short sentences for young offenders were over-used, disrupting attempts at education and rehabilitation. The accent should instead be on finding non-custodial punishments, such as more rigorous community sentences and restorative justice schemes, where underlying behavioural problems could be tackled more effectively. In the long term, measures to tackle youth offending should be the primary responsibility of child welfare services, and not the youth justice system.
Source: Rules of Engagement: Changing the heart of youth justice, Centre for Social Justice
Links: Report | CSJ press release | Barrow Cadbury press release | OCC press release
Date: 2012-Jan
A report examined the risk and resilience factors that increased or decreased the likelihood of offending by children in care. Going into care could prove effective and extremely beneficial in helping a young person deal with prior abuse and could protect against involvement in crime.
Source: Gillian Schofield, Emma Ward, Laura Biggart, Vicky Scaife, Jane Dodsworth, Birgit Larsson, Alice Haynes, and Nigel Stone, Looked After Children and Offending: Reducing risk and promoting resilience, Centre for Research on the Child and Family (University of East Anglia)/The Adolescent and Children's Trust
Links: Report | University of East Anglia press release | Community Care report
Date: 2012-Jan
A briefing paper said that young adults were disproportionately responsible for criminal offences, and yet the measures needed to prevent them from falling into a pattern of behaviour were not adequately delivered by the criminal justice system. It called for the introduction of a robust community sentence, tailored to the specific needs of this age group; and for measures to divert first-time and low-level offenders out of the criminal justice system through the use of restorative pre-court disposal similar to the youth restorative disposal.
Source: Old Enough to Know Better? A briefing on young adults in the criminal justice system in England & Wales, Prison Reform Trust
Links: Briefing | PRT press release
Date: 2012-Jan