A report by a joint committee of MPs and peers said that the government should reconsider its proposals for the reform of legal aid, with more and broader exemptions from some proposals, to protect against breaches of the fundamental right of effective access to justice in individual cases. Recommendations included: that any residence test for eligibility be introduced through primary legislation to allow for full parliamentary scrutiny; that all children should be exempt from any residence test; for urgent reforms to be made to the internal prison complaints system; and that legal assistance should remain for young offenders, particularly for cases regarding resettlement. It also raised concerns about the impact of the proposals on people with mental capacity or mental health difficulties, and about the proposal to remove cases with borderline prospects of success from legal aid funding.
Source: The Implications for Access to Justice of the Government's Proposals to Reform Legal Aid, Seventh Report (Session 201314), HC 766 and HL 100, Joint Select Committee on Human Rights, TSO
Links: Report | Coram Children's Legal Centre press release | Guardian report
Date: 2013-Dec
A report examined the experiences of young people with mental health needs in the criminal justice system in England and noted that little had changed over the past 20 years, despite changes in policy and legislation. It said that young people waited too long for limited services, with increased risk of (re)offending if they self-medicated with alcohol or drugs. Much available support centred around medication and young people often did not receive medication reviews, or further support or intervention. Recommendations included: the implementation of existing strategy; training; lead professionals to monitor actively a young person's case needs; joint commissioning across offender mental health and local mental health services to ensure 'joined up services'; targeted commissioning for at risk 16-19 year olds; and a single point of access to services.
Source: Sarah Campbell and Stephen Abbott, Same Old...: The experiences of young offenders with mental health needs, YoungMinds
Links: Report | YoungMinds press release
Date: 2013-Dec
A report examined youth justice in England and Wales and outlined three principles for good practice: prevention; restoration; and integration. The report called for Police and Crime Commissioners, police forces, local government, and the youth justice system to work together to apply the principles in order to reduce antisocial behaviour and prevent offending.
Source: A Fresh Start to Tackling Youth Crime: A briefing for Police and Crime Commissioners, Independent Commission on Youth Crime and Antisocial Behaviour
Links: Report | Police Foundation press release
Date: 2013-Dec
A report examined the range and impact of interventions with young people by Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) in England and Wales. It said that a range of interventions were used to address risk of reoffending, often individually targeted and over a range of needs, although neighbourhoods, living arrangements, and family and personal relationships were the least likely factors to be targeted. The report said that recording of YOT activity was inconsistent, however, and would benefit from greater standardization. It said that further work was required to examine which offending-related risks and needs could be addressed, and how, and to understand better those aspects of 'cognition and lifestyle' work that were successful.
Source: Edith Wilson, Youth Justice Interventions: Findings from the Juvenile Cohort Study (JCS), Ministry of Justice
Links: Report
Date: 2013-Dec
A report provided a summary of consultation responses on issues surrounding young adults (16-25 year olds) in the criminal justice system in Wales, and the potential role of the integrated offender management system. It said that there was 'overwhelming support' from practitioners for recognizing young adults as a distinct service user group. It said that much could be achieved without legislative change or large-scale investment in new services, and the integrated offender management system was seen as a means to implement a multi-agency, coherent approach to supporting young adults in the criminal justice system.
Source: Nathan Dick, Integrated Offender Management Cymru: All Wales youth to adult transition model, Clinks
Links: Report | T2A press release
Date: 2013-Dec
A report examined the experiences of young people with mental health needs in the criminal justice system in England and noted that little had changed over the past 20 years, despite changes in policy and legislation. It said that young people waited too long for limited services, with increased risk of (re)offending if they self-medicated with alcohol or drugs. Much available support centred around medication and young people often did not receive medication reviews, or further support or intervention. Recommendations included: the implementation of existing strategy; training; lead professionals to monitor actively a young person's case needs; joint commissioning across offender mental health and local mental health services to ensure 'joined up services'; targeted commissioning for at risk 16-19 year olds; and a single point of access to services.
Source: Sarah Campbell and Stephen Abbott, Same Old...: The experiences of young offenders with mental health needs, YoungMinds
Links: Report | YoungMinds press release
Date: 2013-Dec
An article examined the government strategy for reducing youth violence in England and Wales. It said that the focus on gang membership obscured the wider roots of youth violence and might result in an approach that criminalized innocent young people, while diverting resources away from serious violent crime.
Source: Joe Cottrell-Boyce, '"Ending gang and youth violence": a critique', Youth Justice, Volume 13 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Nov
The government began consultation on proposals to accommodate all young adult offenders with older adults in mixed custodial settings.
Source: Transforming Management of Young Adults in Custody, Ministry of Justice
Links: Consultation document
Date: 2013-Nov
A report examined the extent to which health and wellbeing boards were recognizing youth violence as a public health concern.
Source: Violence Prevention, Health Promotion: A public health approach to tackling youth violence, Catch22 and the Dawes Unit
Links: Report | Catch22 comment
Date: 2013-Nov
A briefing paper examined recent policy direction around youth offending.
Source: Gabrielle Garton Grimwood and Pat Strickland, Young Offenders: What next?, Standard Note SN/HA/5896, House of Commons Library
Links: Briefing paper
Date: 2013-Oct
A private member's Bill was published that was designed to make provision for the parents of young offenders to be legally responsible for their actions.
Source: Young Offenders (Parental Responsibility) Bill, Phillip Hollobone MP, TSO
Links: Bill
Date: 2013-Oct
An article examined education and training provision within a Young Offender's Institution, focusing on course preferences, additional support needs, and resettlement.
Source: Anne Kennedy, 'Education in custody: young males perspectives', Contemporary Social Science, Volume 8 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Oct
The government introduced (following consultation) amendments to six of the codes relating to the the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. The affected codes were: A (stop and search), B (search of premises and seizure of property), C (detention of suspects), E (audio recording of interviews), F (visual recording of interviews) and H (detention of terrorism suspects). The changes included the provision of access to an appropriate adult while in police custody for young people aged 17.
Source: Police, England and Wales: The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (Codes of Practice) (Revisions to Codes A, B, C, E, F and H) Order 2013, Statutory Instrument 2013-2685, Home Office, TSO
Links: Statutory Instrument | Hansard | Consultation responses | PACE Code A | PACE Code B | PACE Code C | PACE Code E | PACE Code F | PACE Code H
Date: 2013-Oct
A report examined gang membership among children and young people. Using data from the Offending Crime and Justice Survey (2003-2006), it examined the patterns, antecedents, and consequences of gang membership to inform understanding of gangs in England and Wales. The report noted the limitations of the core data and recommended further work to improve understanding of the emergence of gangs, to examine the factors around disengagement, and to provide evidence on effective policy responses.
Source: Juanjo Medina, Andreas Cebulla, Andy Ross, Jon Shute, and Judith Aldridge, Children and Young People in Gangs: A longitudinal analysis – summary and policy implications, Nuffield Foundation
Links: Report | Nuffield Foundation press release
Date: 2013-Oct
An article examined sports-based interventions (SBIs) and the problem of youth crime. Sport could play a positive role in the lives of young people: but there was a lack of robust evidence to support the argument that participation in sporting activity could lead to a reduction in anti-social and offending behaviour. By focusing on 'individual needs' and 'pathways to work', SBIs could became overly reductionist and mask broader structural inequalities based on class, gender, and race. Advocates of SBIs needed to promote a less homogeneous idea of what an SBI is, as well as be more sensitive to the diverse needs of young people.
Source: John Martyn Chamberlain, 'Sports-based intervention and the problem of youth offending: a diverse enough tool for a diverse society', Sport in Society: Cultures, Commerce, Media, Politics, Volume 16 Issue 10
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Sep
An article examined the conceptual and empirical adequacy of a survey designed to measure gang membership among young people in England and Wales. Although the survey identified a distinct group of young people involved in frequent and serious offending, this definition also extended to a separate group whose only offence was recreational drug use.
Source: Juanjo Medina, Judith Aldridge, Jon Shute, and Andy Ross, 'Measuring gang membership in England and Wales: a latent class analysis with Eurogang survey questions', European Journal of Criminology, Volume 10 Number 5
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Sep
A report examined how the needs of young adults were met in custody. It said that in many instances prisons failed to provide sufficient activities, education, and levels of safety. It recommended that young adults be placed near to home, in institutions that provided high-quality activities. Effective leadership from governors was key to meeting the distinct needs of young adults. There needed to be a wider range of residential placements, age-appropriate discipline systems, targeted staff training, a remodelling of all young offender institutions as 'secure colleges', and research into effective means of violence reduction that did not reduce activities.
Source: Rob Allen, Young Adults in Custody: The Way Forward, Transition to Adulthood Alliance
Date: 2013-Sep
An article critically examined anti-social behaviour policy. Interventions aimed at confronting anti-social behaviour had fed negative stereotypes of young people.
Source: Jon Bannister and Ade Kearns, 'Overcoming intolerance to young people's conduct: implications from the unintended consequences of policy in the UK', Criminology and Criminal Justice, Volume 13 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Aug
An article examined demographic risk factors and trends from 1998 to 2009 for concurrent multiple substance use in adolescence in England. All forms of substance use were found to be strongly related. The prevalence of multiple substance use decreased significantly across time in line with decreases in individual substance use. The prevalence of individual and multiple substance use across years was higher among white young people. Males were more likely to engage in risky drinking behaviour. Females were more likely to smoke regularly, but were at increased risk for multiple substance use. Deprivation was unrelated to drinking behaviour: but it was associated with increases in smoking and illicit drug use, and all forms of multiple substance use.
Source: Daniel Hale, Research Associate, and Russell Viner, 'Trends in the prevalence of multiple substance use in adolescents in England, 1998-2009', Journal of Public Health, Volume 35 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Aug
A study examined the potential for taking account of maturity at the charge and prosecution stage of the youth justice system. Within the Crown Prosecution Service there was a significant level of expertise in, and experience of, working with issues around maturity: but a number of further changes were needed in order for a new measure of maturity to be implemented in way that ensured both its consistent and correct application.
Source: Stephen Moffatt, Prosecuting Young Adults: The potential for taking account of maturity at the charge and prosecution stage of the criminal justice system, Criminal Justice Alliance
Links: Report
Date: 2013-Aug
A special issue of a journal examined the minimum age of criminal responsibility.
Source: Youth Justice, Volume 13 Number 2
Links: Table of contents
Notes: Articles included:
Enys Delmage, 'The minimum age of criminal responsibility: a medico-legal perspective'
Barry Goldson, '"Unsafe, unjust and harmful to wider society": grounds for raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility in England and Wales'
Michael Lamb and Megan Sim, 'Developmental factors affecting children in legal contexts'
Claire McDiarmid, 'An age of complexity: children and criminal responsibility in law'
Nigel Stone, 'Legal commentary sentencing youths: distinctiveness and individualism'
Date: 2013-Aug
A report examined what happened to persistent and serious young offenders when they grew up. Those subject to the Intensive Supervision and Surveillance programme and those in control groups displayed 'remarkably similar' trajectories in the frequency of offending at all time points. There were no long-term differences between the groups after the programme ended in 2008.
Source: Emily Gray, Persistent and Serious Young Offenders When They Grow Up: A follow-up study of the first recipients of Intensive Supervision and Surveillance, Youth Justice Board
Links: Report
Date: 2013-Jul
Researchers examined the role of the family in facilitating gang membership. Denial of, or ignorance about, young people's involvement in gangs was commonplace among family members as was a 'double life' led by gang-involved young people, who took careful steps to hide their involvement from their families.
Source: Tara Young, Wendy Fitzgibbon, and Daniel Silverstone, The Role of the Family in Facilitating Gang Membership, Criminality and Exit, Catch22
Links: Report | Summary | Catch22 press release
Date: 2013-Jul
An article examined claims that concern about anti-social behaviour might be linked to generally negative attitudes towards young people, focusing on a disadvantaged urban neighbourhood in Glasgow (Scotland). Some evidence was found of negative attitudes, in the form of generalized negative stereotyping of young people, but not of a 'general climate of intolerance'. Although adult residents of disadvantaged urban neighbourhoods perceived young people's anti-social behaviour to be a serious issue, they assumed that such behaviours occurred in the context of poor environments, poor parenting, and poor adult behaviour.
Source: Matt Egan, Joanne Neary, Peter Keenan, and Lyndal Bond, 'Perceptions of antisocial behaviour and negative attitudes towards young people: focus group evidence from adult residents of disadvantaged urban neighbourhoods (Glasgow, UK)', Journal of Youth Studies, Volume 16 Number 5
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Jul
An article (by an ex-offender) said that politicians and professionals had still not learned how to deal with 'problematic youth', the dangers and difficulties they faced, and the problems they caused for others. It highlighted the 'social deprivation mindset' of many young people, and said that the criminal justice system should place more emphasis on changing the mindset of problematic individuals than on challenging their reoffending.
Source: Trevor Hercules, 'Understanding the "social deprivation mindset": an ex-offender speaks', British Journal of Community Justice, Volume 10 Issue 3
Links: Article
Date: 2013-May
An article examined the views of offenders in Scotland about what helped and hindered young people generally in the process of desistance; why interventions might or might not encourage desistance; and what criminal justice and other agencies could do to alleviate the problems that might result in offending. Probation-style supervisory relationships with workers were still the key means to promote desistance: but given that offenders perceived desistance to be 'by design' rather than 'by default', there still needed to be a greater emphasis placed by criminal justice and wider agencies on the structural obstacles to a legal, conventional, and integrated lifestyle.
Source: Monica Barry, 'Desistance by design: offenders' reflections on criminal justice theory, policy and practice', European Journal of Probation, Volume 5 Number 2
Date: 2013-May
The government responded to a report by a committee of MPs on the youth justice system. It said that it agreed that looked-after children should not be charged with criminal offences as a result of behaviour that would not lead to police involvement in the family home. It was also seeking improved support for looked-after children to help address potential offending behaviour.
Source: Government Response to the Justice Committee s Seventh Report: Youth Justice, Cm 8615, Ministry of Justice, TSO
Links: Response
Notes: MPs report (March 2013)
Date: 2013-May
The High Court ruled that young people aged 17 who were taken into police custody should be treated as children rather than as adults. This would ensure that the parents were informed of the arrest; and that the young person received the support of an appropriate adult to help them through the legal process.
Source: HC (a child), R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department & Anor, High Court 25 April 2013
Links: Judgement | Childrens Commissioner press release | Coram press release | Howard League press release | Inquest press release | Guardian report
Date: 2013-Apr
An article examined competing accounts of an apparent inversion of the previously prevailing relationship between young people s unemployment and the incidence of youth offending at a time of economic recession. It considered whether youth justice policies had successfully broken the unemployment–offending link: or alternatively that the delayed effects of recession had yet to materialize. It proposed a rights-based approach to youth justice that recognized the growing disjuncture between the rights afforded to young people and the responsibilities expected of them.
Source: Ross Fergusson, 'Risk, responsibilities and rights: reassessing the "economic causes of crime" thesis in a recession', Youth Justice, Volume 13 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Apr
A report presented the views of 187 young people in care and in secure training centres in England on what they felt they needed in order to stay out of trouble. The most widely supported view was that there should be more local activities and places for young people to go.
Source: Keeping out of Trouble: Children s views reported by the Children s Rights Director for England, Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills
Links: Report | OFSTED press release
Date: 2013-Apr
An article examined the extent to which children of convicted parents might have a higher risk of a conviction themselves because criminal justice systems focused more attention on certain criminal families so-called 'official bias'.
Source: Sytske Besemer, David Farrington, and Catrien Bijleveld, 'Official bias in intergenerational transmission of criminal behaviour', British Journal of Criminology, Volume 53 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Apr
Researchers examined the needs of children and young people within the secure estate in England and Wales, and the interventions that they received. Most young people who had met their personal officer or key worker reported that contact with them had been helpful. Just under two-fifths (39 per cent) of young people serving their sentence at a young offenders' institution reported that they had been restrained. 21 per cent of young people reported that they had learning difficulties. 31 per cent were recorded as having a substance misuse problem that was considered to have a noticeably detrimental effect on their education, relationships, and daily functioning. There were some concerns among staff interviewees that short sentences often meant that there was insufficient time to build strong relationships with young people or to provide appropriate and effective interventions that could be carried forward upon release.
Source: Tracey Gyateng, Alessandro Moretti, Tiggey May, and Paul Turnbull, Young People and the Secure Estate: Needs and Interventions, Youth Justice Board of England and Wales
Links: Report
Date: 2013-Mar
A report by a committee of MPs said that the youth justice system in England and Wales was failing children in care and care-leavers, and that more should be done to prevent the unnecessary criminalization of them for 'trivial incidents'. It called for early intervention, the use of restorative justice, and alternatives to custody to help cut reoffending. It also raised serious concerns about the increasing use of force to restrain young offenders in detention.
Source: Youth Justice, Seventh Report (Session 201213), HC 339, House of Commons Justice Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report | Additional written evidence | Committee press release | Action for Children press release | BASW press release | Childrens Society press release | HLPR press release | INQUEST press release | LGA press release | BBC report | Community Care report | Guardian report | Telegraph report
Date: 2013-Mar
A briefing paper said that children and young people with mental health problems who were caught up in the criminal justice system were not getting the right support. Around 25 per cent of children who offended had very low IQs, of less than 70; and 60 per cent had communication difficulties.
Source: Robert Newman (with Jenny Talbot, Roger Catchpole, and Lucie Russell), Turning Young Lives Around: How health and justice services can respond to children with mental health problems and learning disabilities who offend, YoungMinds/Prison Reform Trust
Links: Briefing | YoungMinds press release | PRT press release
Date: 2013-Feb
A joint inspectorate report said that professional workers were often missing opportunities to prevent reoffending by children and young people who committed sexual offences.
Source: Examining Multi-Agency Responses to Children and Young People who Sexually Offend: A joint inspection of the effectiveness of multi-agency work with children and young people in England and Wales who have committed sexual offences and were supervised in the community, HM Chief Inspector of Probation/Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales/Care Quality Commission/Estyn/Healthcare Inspectorate Wales/HMI Constabulary/HMI Prisons/Ofsted
Links: Report | Joint inspectorate press release | MOJ press release | EVAW press release | Community Care report | Guardian report
Date: 2013-Feb
The coalition government published a Green Paper on the reform of youth custody arrangements. It said that custody might be an opportunity to provide young people with the education, skills, self-discipline, and self-respect needed to turn their lives around. There was a need to draw on the experiences of the free schools and academies programmes, and bring new expertise and providers into the 'market'.
Source: Transforming Youth Custody: Putting education at the heart of detention, Cm 8564, Ministry of Justice, TSO
Links: Green Paper | Hansard | MOJ press release | ADCS press release | HLPR press release | Labour Party press release | Guardian report
Date: 2013-Feb
An article examined whether peers had a lasting effect on offending behaviour, based on a longitudinal study of 4,300 teenagers in Edinburgh. The level of offending of someone's friends at age 13-14 had a clear immediate effect on their own offending: this effect steadily diminished over time but remained statistically significant for a period of 2-5 years. Friends' offending was among the most important variables explaining own offending.
Source: David Smith and Russell Ecob, 'The influence of friends on teenage offending: how long did it last?', European Journal of Criminology, Volume 10 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Jan
A report presented the views and experiences of over 120 children and young people across Europe on violence in custody, and set out their suggestions for change.
Source: Speaking Freely: Children and young people in Europe talk about ending violence against children in custody, Children's Rights Alliance for England
Links: Report | CRAE press release
Date: 2013-Jan