A report summarized a series of seminars on children in the youth justice system in England and Wales, organized by an all-party group of MPs.
Source: Children and Young People in the Youth Justice System, All-Party Parliamentary Group on Children
Links: Report
Date: 2010-Dec
An audit report said that recent improvements to the youth justice system had contributed to reductions in recorded youth crime. But despite a 25 per cent reduction in the volumes of reoffending, young offenders who received more serious community sentences or custodial sentences remained as likely to offend again as they had been 10 years previously when the youth justice system was brought in.
Source: The Youth Justice System in England and Wales: Reducing offending by young people, HC 663 (Session 2010-11), National Audit Office/TSO
Links: Report | NAO press release | Out of Trouble press release | Children & Young People Now report
Date: 2010-Dec
A new book examined peer violence between children and young people. It challenged representations of youth violence as essentially 'evil'.
Source: Christine Barter and David Berridge (eds.), Children Behaving Badly? Peer violence between children and young people, Wiley
Links: Summary | Bristol University press release
Date: 2010-Dec
A report said that the courts needed to do more to reduce the number of children with learning disabilities who were sent to prison.
Source: Jenny Talbot, Seen and Heard: Supporting vulnerable children in the youth justice system, Prison Reform Trust/Association of Youth Offending Team Managers
Links: Report | Children & Young People Now report | Guardian report | Morning Star report
Date: 2010-Nov
An inspectorate report examined how young people in England and Wales aged 15-18 described their own experience of imprisonment in 2009-10. Some welcome progress had been made: but in some areas treatment and conditions had deteriorated.
Source: Hayley Cripps, Children and Young People in Custody 2009-10: An analysis of the experiences of 15-18-year-olds in prison, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for England and Wales/Youth Justice Board
Links: Report | HMIC press release | YJB press release | Telegraph report | Children & Young People Now report
Date: 2010-Nov
A literature review drew on data from administrative sources and from the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey to construct a picture of what was known about youth violence in Scotland.
Source: Alistair Fraser, Michele Burman and Susan Batchelor with Susan McVie, Youth Violence in Scotland: Literature Review, Scottish Government
Links: Report
Date: 2010-Nov
An article examined offending behaviour and children in residential care. It considered whether children's residential care was a 'criminogenic' environment. The available data provided evidence of an environment in which conflict and offending behaviour were common. The residential care environment, particularly for older teenagers, often presented a set of risks that tended to reinforce offending behaviour – in part due to its 'last resort' status.
Source: Carol Hayden, 'Offending behaviour in care: is children's residential care a "criminogenic" environment?', Child & Family Social Work, Volume 15 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2010-Nov
An article examined the disjuncture between the research and practice literatures on the skills and knowledge required by practitioners to develop relationships with young offenders that would engage and sustain them in intervention programmes.
Source: David Prior and Paul Mason, 'A different kind of evidence? Looking for "what works" in engaging young offenders', Youth Justice, Volume 10 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2010-Nov
A report said that the prison service was failing to make legal service officers available to young people in prison.
Source: Access to Justice Denied: Young adults in prison, Howard League for Penal Reform
Links: Report | Children & Young People Now report | Guardian report
Date: 2010-Oct
Researchers sought to identify the prevalence of racially motivated offending among young people in England and Wales and to shed light on the response to racially motivated offending within the youth justice system.
Source: Aidan Wilcox, Hannah Smithson, Kris Christmann, Leanne Monchuk and Kevin Wong, Racially Motivated Offending and Targeted Interventions, Youth Justice Board for England and Wales/Home Office
Links: Report
Date: 2010-Oct
A literature review examined post-16 education and training provision for young people involved in offending.
Source: Laura Brazier, Jane Hurry and Anita Wilson, Post-16 Education and Training Provision for Young People Involved in Crime: Literature review, National Research and Development Centre for Adult Literacy and Numeracy
Links: Report
Date: 2010-Oct
A report presented the findings of a study of children's services provision for young offenders and young people at risk of offending. Most (though not all) youth offending teams and children's services appeared to have strong strategic relationships, and there was clear evidence of the two agencies working together in integrated teams.
Source: Matt Hopkins, Sarah Webb and Alan Mackie, A Review of YOTs and Children's Services' Interaction with Young Offenders and Young People at Risk of Offending, Youth Justice Board for England and Wales/Home Office
Links: Report | Community Care report
Date: 2010-Oct
An article examined the scope for reforming the age of criminal responsibility in England and Wales.
Source: Nigel Stone, 'Old heads upon young shoulders: "compassion to human infirmity" following R v JTB', Journal of Social Welfare & Family Law, Volume 32 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2010-Oct
A report called for the government to consider raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12 – except in cases of murder, attempted murder, manslaughter, rape, and aggravated sexual assault. Whole-family support in a multi-agency setting, such as family intervention projects, had a much better chance of reducing reoffending for this group.
Source: From Playground to Prison: The case for reviewing the age of criminal responsibility, Barnardo's
Links: Report | Barnardo's press release | HLPR press release | Guardian report | BBC report | Telegraph report
Date: 2010-Sep
A report highlighted the damaged and disadvantaged backgrounds of the majority of young people in custody, and the high proportion of children who were imprisoned for non-violent and less serious offences.
Source: Jessica Jacobson, Bina Bhardwa, Tracey Gyateng, Gillian Hunter and Mike Hough, Punishing Disadvantage: A profile of children in custody, Prison Reform Trust
Links: Report | Kings College press release | Guardian report | Community Care report
Date: 2010-Sep
A report examined levels and standards of mental health provision in the young people's secure estate in England. There was an urgent need for all secure units to develop an integrated, comprehensive approach to supporting the mental health and well-being of the young people in their care. Any improvements made while in custody needed to be supported and maintained following release.
Source: Lorraine Khan, Reaching Out, Reaching In: Promoting mental health and emotional well-being in secure settings, Centre for Mental Health
Links: Report
Date: 2010-Sep
Two linked reports examined gang membership and knife-carrying among young people in Scotland. A blanket 'one size fits all' policy on gangs and knife-carrying was largely ineffective: targeted intervention strategies should be deployed instead.
Source: Jon Bannister et al., Troublesome Youth Groups, Gangs and Knife Carrying in Scotland, Scottish Government | Susan McVie, Gang Membership and Knife Carrying: Findings from The Edinburgh Study of Youth Transitions and Crime, Scottish Government
Links: Report (1) | Report (2) | Summary (2) | Scottish Government press release
Date: 2010-Sep
A joint inspectorate report examined approaches to youth-crime prevention. There were many examples of impressive partnership working and considered approaches to youth crime: but better co-ordination, and an improvement in identifying what worked – both locally and nationally – were needed.
Source: A Joint Inspection of Youth Crime Prevention, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary/HMI Probation/Care Quality Commission/Healthcare Inspectorate Wales
Links: Report | CQC press release
Date: 2010-Sep
A report examined the risks and benefits of devolving youth justice to the Welsh Assembly Government. There was a broad consensus supporting the principle of devolving youth justice: but there were many issues regarding resources and finance that needed to be looked at in detail.
Source: Rod Morgan, Report to the Welsh Assembly Government on the Question of Devolution of Youth Justice Responsibilities, Welsh Assembly Government
Links: Report | WAG press release
Date: 2010-Sep
A report examined healthcare provision in youth offending teams in England, and mental health diversion work within the youth justice system. Most health and therapeutic support was focused at a very late stage in the youth justice pathway.
Source: Lorraine Khan and Jane Wilson, You Just Get On And Do It: Healthcare provision in youth offending teams, Centre for Mental Health
Links: Report
Date: 2010-Sep
A new book examined the treatment of young adults (aged 18-21) in the criminal justice system. Young adults had been neglected in comparison with young people under 18; they had few programmes designed specially for them, and they were increasingly held in adult prisons rather than young offender institutions.
Source: Friedrich Losel, Anthony Bottoms and David Farrington (eds.), Lost in Transition: Young adult offenders in the criminal justice system, Willan Publishing
Links: Summary
Date: 2010-Sep
The inspectorate for education and children's services said that some children and young people in secure accommodation were being placed as far as 200 miles away from their families, damaging their chances of receiving co-ordinated support.
Source: Admission and Discharge from Secure Accommodation, HMI 090228, Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills
Links: Report | OFSTED press release | YJB press release | BBC report | Community Care report | Children & Young People Now report
Date: 2010-Aug
An article examined the prevalence of racially motivated offending (RMO) among young people, and youth justice system responses to it. The majority of provision was multifaceted but also ad hoc, and did not address the evidence on the causes of RMO. The multiplicity of causes needed to be reflected in the interventions designed to tackle it.
Source: Hannah Smithson, Aidan Wilcox and Leanne Monchuk, 'Current responses to youth racially motivated offending', Youth Justice, Volume 10 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2010-Aug
A report examined the case for raising the 'custody threshold' – the minimum age (currently 12) at which children in England and Wales could be given a custodial sentence.
Source: Raising the Custody Threshold, Standing Committee for Youth Justice
Date: 2010-Aug
An article examined ways in which time banks could be put to use in contemporary youth justice practice in England and Wales. Time banks offered a new possibility for local action by youth justice workers that both improved the immediate circumstances of users and altered the nature of services themselves.
Source: Mark Drakeford and Lee Gregory, 'Transforming time: a new tool for youth justice', Youth Justice, Volume 10 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2010-Aug
A report said that conditions for young people in custody were not improving despite a fall in overall numbers.
Source: Life Inside 2010: A unique insight into the day to day experiences of 15-17 year old males in prison, Howard League for Penal Reform
Links: Children & Young People Now report
Date: 2010-Jul
A new book examined the implementation of a restorative justice approach in the environment of children's residential care homes.
Source: Carol Hayden and Dennis Gough, Implementing Restorative Justice in Children's Residential Care, Policy Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2010-Jul
Researchers evaluated the 'intensive fostering' pilot scheme, targeted at serious and persistent young offenders for whom the alternative to fostering would be custody or an intensive supervision and surveillance programme.
Source: Nina Biehal et al., A Report on the Intensive Fostering Pilot Programme, Youth Justice Board for England and Wales/Home Office
Links: Report
Date: 2010-Jul
A study found that a resettlement programme for young offenders had led to an 8 per cent drop in reoffending rates. (The Resettlement and Aftercare Provision programme was launched in June 2005 to improve levels of support offered to children and young people leaving custody.)
Source: Evaluation of Resettlement and Aftercare Provision, Youth Justice Board for England and Wales/Home Office
Links: Report | Children & Young People Now report
Date: 2010-Jul
A new book examined how the law dealt with young offenders in England and Wales, and the extent to which it protected and promoted the rights of young people in conflict with the law.
Source: Raymond Arthur, Young Offenders and the Law: How the law responds to youth offending, Routledge
Links: Summary
Date: 2010-Jul
A report called for the introduction of restorative justice across England and Wales, in order to halve the number of juveniles in custody.
Source: Time for a Fresh Start, Independent Commission on Youth Crime and Antisocial Behaviour
Links: Report | Commission press release | Sainsbury Centre press release | LSE press release | Children & Young People Now report | Community Care report
Date: 2010-Jul
An article reported on a comparative study of youth justice in Italy and (England and) Wales.
Source: Stewart Field and David Nelken, 'Reading and writing youth justice in Italy and (England and) Wales', Punishment and Society, Volume 12 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2010-Jul
An article said that Youth Offending Team risk assessments formed only one part of the information used by magistrates to explain young people s presence in courts.
Source: Jo Phoenix, 'Pre-sentence reports, magisterial discourse and agency in the Youth Courts in England and Wales', Punishment and Society, Volume 12 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2010-Jul
A study examined evidence from 60 inspection reports relating to youth offending teams (YOTs) in England and Wales, alongside annual performance assessments of services for children and young people, and national performance indicator data focusing on youth offending issues. There was 'insufficient evidence' to suggest a marked decline in the performance of youth offending teams.
Source: Shona Macleod, Jennifer Jeffes, Richard White and George Bramley, An Analysis of Youth Offending Teams' Inspection Reports, National Foundation for Educational Research
Links: Report | Summary | Children & Young People Now report
Date: 2010-Jun
A study examined attempts by local authorities and their partner organizations to counter the public perception that increasing numbers of young people were involved in crime and anti-social behaviour. It highlighted the need for a more co-ordinated and strategic approach.
Source: Kerry Martin, Ruth Hart, Shona Macleod and Kay Kinder, Positivity in Practice: Approaches to improving perceptions of young people and their involvement in crime and anti-social behaviour, National Foundation for Educational Research
Links: Report | NFER press release
Date: 2010-Jun
A new book examined youth crime and different policy responses to it, focusing particularly on England and Wales.
Source: David Smith (ed.), A New Response to Youth Crime, Willan Publishing
Links: Summary
Date: 2010-Jun
A joint inspectorate report said that there should be an integrated national strategy to support criminal justice agencies in tackling the causes and effects of gang activity among those aged under 18.
Source: The Management of Gang Issues Among Children and Young People in Prison Custody and the Community, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for England and Wales/HM Chief Inspector of Probation/HM Inspectorate of Constabulary
Links: Report | YJB press release | Children & Young People Now report
Date: 2010-Jun
A joint inspectorate report said that youth offending teams (YOTs) had made good progress in identifying and addressing alcohol misuse in children and young people: but that further improvements needed to be made.
Source: Message in a Bottle: A joint inspection of youth alcohol misuse and offending, HM Chief Inspector of Probation/Care Quality Commission/Healthcare Inspectorate Wales/Estyn
Links: Report | CQC press release | YJB press release
Date: 2010-Jun
An article said that the Labour government (1997-2010) had subjected the English youth justice system to a 'seemingly endless' sequence of reforms, reflecting a core tension between an expressed commitment to 'evidence-based policy' and a populist rhetoric of 'tough' correctionalism. The trajectory of policy had ultimately moved in a diametrically opposed direction to the route signalled by research-based knowledge and practice-based evidence.
Source: Barry Goldson, 'The sleep of (criminological) reason: knowledge – policy rupture and New Labour's youth justice legacy', Criminology and Criminal Justice, Volume 10 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2010-May
An article examined the youth justice services in Wales in the context both of devolution and the wider social policy agenda of successive Welsh Assembly Governments.
Source: Mark Drakeford, 'Devolution and youth justice in Wales', Criminology and Criminal Justice, Volume 10 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2010-May
The new Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government announced that the Ministry of Justice would take sole responsibility for youth justice (previously shared with the Department for Children, Schools and Families).
Source: Press release 20 May 2010, Ministry of Justice
Links: MOJ press release | Children & Young People Now report
Date: 2010-May
An article examined the impact of the increase in post-compulsory schooling and economic growth on conviction rates for anti-social behaviour in England. The expansion of post-compulsory education was important for reductions in anti-social behaviour regardless of the additional impact of economic growth. Additionally, economic growth itself was found not to be associated with reductions in anti-social behaviour.
Source: Ricardo Sabates, 'Educational expansion, economic growth and antisocial behaviour: evidence from England', Educational Studies, Volume 36 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2010-May
An article drew on findings from the Edinburgh Study of Youth Transitions and Crime to challenge the evidence base that policy-makers used to justify the evolving models of youth justice across the United Kingdom (both in Scotland and England/Wales). It said that the Scottish system should be better placed than most other western systems to deliver justice for children (due to its founding commitment to decriminalization and destigmatization): but it appeared to be failing many young people.
Source: Lesley McAra and Susan McVie, 'Youth crime and justice: key messages from the Edinburgh Study of Youth Transitions and Crime', Criminology and Criminal Justice, Volume 10 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2010-May
The inspectorate for education and children's services examined the range and effectiveness of the arrangements for education and training for several categories of young people: those identified for their likelihood of offending; young offenders who moved into custodial establishments then were transferred between different establishments while in custody; and those who moved between custody and the community. It said that children and young people were suffering as a result of variable standards of support when moving into and out of custody.
Source: Transition Through Detention and Custody: Arrangements for learning and skills for young people in custodial or secure settings, HMI 090115, Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills
Links: Report | OFSTED press release | Children & Young People Now report
Date: 2010-May
An article examined ways in which the social science community – and sociological criminology in particular – could influence policy-making processes in the youth justice field.
Source: Barry Goldson and Gordon Hughes, 'Sociological criminology and youth justice: comparative policy analysis and academic intervention', Criminology and Criminal Justice, Volume 10 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2010-May
The prisons inspectorate examined training planning for young people in custody. Only 60 per cent of young people reported having a training plan – possibly because not all of them were aware that they had a plan; they might refer to it by a different name; or they might have forgotten that they had one, due to their lack of involvement with the planning process or the infrequency with which it was reviewed.
Source: Training Planning for Children and Young People, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for England and Wales
Links: Report | Out of Trouble press release
Date: 2010-May
The government published a progress report on the Youth Crime Action Plan. It said that for the first time the number of young people entering the criminal justice system was falling – by 21.6 per cent between 2007-08 and 2008-09; and that the rate of youth reoffending was down by almost one-quarter between 2000 and 2008.
Source: Youth Crime Action Plan: Update, Department for Children, Schools and Families
Links: Report
Date: 2010-Apr
An article said that the move in policy and practice from welfare/treatment towards punishment as the key for addressing the problem of young offending was not an appropriate response. It called for a more 'radical/critical' social policy based on equality and redistribution.
Source: Steve Rogowski, 'Young offending: towards a radical/critical social policy', Journal of Youth Studies, Volume 13 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2010-Apr
A report provided monitoring information on family intervention projects designed to tackle issues such as anti-social behaviour and drug abuse. The results continued to show 'overwhelmingly positive' outcomes for families.
Source: National Centre for Social Research, ASB Family Intervention Projects: Monitoring and Evaluation, Research Report RR215, Department for Children, Schools and Families
Links: Report | DCSF press release
Date: 2010-Mar
The government published a review of the Youth Justice Board and its role in managing the youth justice system. It highlighted key successes including a drop in the number of young people entering the criminal justice system for the first time and a fall in the rate of reoffending.
Source: Safeguarding the Future: A review of the Youth Justice Board's governance and operating arrangements, Ministry of Justice (and other departments)
Links: Report | Hansard | MOJ press release | YJB press release
Date: 2010-Mar
A report said that agencies dealing with children and young people in breach of bail conditions, criminal justice orders, and anti-social behaviour orders needed to strike a balance between enforcement and support in order to improve outcomes for young offenders and reduce reoffending.
Source: Di Hart, Children and Young People in 'Breach': A scoping report on policy and practice in the enforcement of criminal justice and anti-social behaviour orders, National Children's Bureau
Links: Report | NCB press release | Children & Young People Now report
Date: 2010-Mar
A paper set out the financial, individual, and social impacts of the overuse of custody for children in England and Wales. It called for an urgent shake-up of the youth secure estate to allow for smaller units that could better deal with the needs of young offenders.
Source: Custody for Children: The Impact, Standing Committee for Youth Justice
Links: Paper | Children & Young People Now report
Date: 2010-Mar
A think-tank report said that locking up children and young people for non-violent offences was costing the taxpayer millions of pounds, but doing little to reduce the amount of crime. Sending a child to prison cost £140,000 per year – and yet made it more likely that a young person would reoffend, be unemployed, and live in poverty. £60 million could be saved each year through devolving budgets for prison places to local authorities.
Source: Aleksi Knuutila, Punishing Costs: How locking up children is making Britain less safe, New Economics Foundation
Links: Report | NEF press release | Telegraph report | Guardian report | Community Care report
Date: 2010-Mar
A report for the equal rights watchdog examined whether the police and the youth justice system treated young people from different ethnic groups in different ways. It said that black and mixed-race youths were over-represented in the youth justice system. This over-representation started at the point of entry into the system, and was largely preserved as young suspects and defendants passed through it.
Source: Tiggey May, Tracey Gyateng and Mike Hough with others, Differential Treatment in the Youth Justice System, Research Report 50, Equality and Human Rights Commission
Links: Report
Date: 2010-Mar
A report documented the achievements and challenges of the four pilot projects designed to encourage, develop, and showcase different approaches to reducing the use of custodial sentences for children.
Source: Karen Halsey, Kerry Martin and Richard White, Evaluation of the Children in Trouble Programme, National Foundation for Educational Research
Date: 2010-Mar
A report by a committee of the National Assembly for Wales identified problems in the delivery of the Welsh Assembly Government's policies in relation to children and young people in the secure estate. It recommended that the Welsh Assembly Government should consider seeking to have devolved responsibility for the juvenile secure estate.
Source: Youth Justice: The Experience of Welsh Children in the Secure Estate, Communities and Culture Committee/National Assembly for Wales
Links: Report | YJB press release | BBC report
Date: 2010-Feb
An article examined the proposed introduction of uniforms for young adult offenders undertaking community service as part of their community orders. It said that the proposal for the introduction of uniforms was counterproductive and retrograde, and suggested alternative ways to increase the visibility of unpaid work by offenders within the community.
Source: Nicholas Pamment and Tom Ellis, 'A retrograde step: the potential impact of high visibility uniforms within youth justice reparation', Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, Volume 49 Issue 1
Links: Abstract | Portsmouth University press release
Date: 2010-Feb
An article examined the methodology and findings of an evaluation of the Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Program (ISSP) – a community-based sanction for serious and habitual juvenile offenders. It found that the ISSP did not reduce reoffending, ensure adequate surveillance for public protection, ensure rigorous enforcement of supervision conditions, or provide supervision sessions tailored to individual needs or offender age.
Source: Tom Ellis, Nick Pamment and Chris Lewis, 'Public protection in youth justice? The Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme from the inside', International Journal of Police Science & Management, Volume 11 Issue 4
Links: Abstract | Portsmouth University press release | Guardian report | Community Care report
Date: 2010-Feb
A manifesto contained 10 recommendations designed to make the treatment of young adult offenders more effective, fairer, and less costly. More young adults should be diverted away from the formal criminal justice system into measures that could address the causes of their offending and provide reparation to victims. Short prison sentences for non-violent offenders should be replaced with constructive community sentences. The experience of custody should be much more educational for those who really did need to be locked up. Efforts at reintegrating young people after release should be intensified.
Source: Vicki Helyar-Cardwell, Young Adult Manifesto, Transition to Adulthood Alliance
Links: Manifesto
Date: 2010-Jan
A new book examined the role of law in the care and development of children. It considered the law's approach in the United Kingdom and the United States of America to resolving parenting disputes after separation, protecting children from abuse and neglect, and affording children procedural protections in the juvenile justice system.
Source: Emily Buss and Mavis Maclean (eds.), The Law and Child Development, Ashgate Publications
Links: Summary
Date: 2010-Jan
An article examined the experiences and behaviour of parents who had been given parenting orders. It questioned parents' claims to a positive parental identity in the light of 'hegemonic gendered and classed conceptions' of responsible parenting.
Source: Amanda Holt, 'Disciplining "problem parents" in the youth court: between regulation and resistance', Social Policy and Society, Volume 9 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2010-Jan