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Judging maturity: exploring the role of maturity in the sentencing of young adults
- Author:
- HOWARD LEAGUE FOR PENAL REFORM
- Publisher:
- Howard League for Penal Reform
- Publication year:
- 2017
- Pagination:
- 30
- Place of publication:
- London
This research explores 174 senior court judgments to current judicial treatment of young adults, with a particular focus on how judges view the concept of maturity. In addition, the research explored a number of references by the Attorney General in respect of sentences deemed to be unduly lenient and judgments reviewing the positive maturation of young adults who committed the offence of murder as a child. These cases illustrate that the courts are capable of taking a nuanced and thoughtful approach based on the actual development of the individual. The research suggests that professionals need to be encouraged to bring these factors to the court’s attention and sentencers need to be encouraged to consider these factors of their own will. It also indicates that guidelines can make a positive difference and empower sentencers to reduce sentences on account of lack of maturity and/or age. To bring about this change, the report calls for the Sentencing Council to work towards developing formal sentencing principles for young adults, similar to the principles that are in place for children. (Edited publisher abstract)
The state of youth justice 2015: an overview of trends and developments
- Author:
- BATEMAN Tim
- Publisher:
- National Association for Youth Justice
- Publication year:
- 2015
- Pagination:
- 45
This briefing paper provides an overview of what is known about the nature and prevalence of youth crime in England and Wales, drawing on the latest available data. It aims to offer a contextual analysis of trends suggested by the figures that facilitates an assessment of the treatment of children who come to the attention of the youth justice system, considering the extent to which responses take adequate account of children’s rights and best interests. The paper focuses on children aged 10-17 years, reflecting the minimum age of criminal responsibility in England and Wales and the age at which young people are considered adults for criminal justice purposes. Trends are for most purposes traced from 1992 onwards because of difficulties of comparison with the earlier period. (Edited publisher abstract)
‘Asset: An assessment tool that safeguards or stigmatizes young offenders?’: a practitioner response
- Author:
- SHEPHERD Becky
- Journal article citation:
- Probation Journal, 59(3), 2012, pp.269-274.
- Publisher:
- Sage
This article is a response to Tracy Almond’s article ‘Asset: an assessment tool that safeguards or stigmatises young offenders?’ Almond takes the position that Asset, the Youth Justice Board assessment tool, is poorly designed, labels young people unhelpfully, and that the criminal justice system (CJS)’s approach to dealing with young people is increasingly out of step with the social care approach. She explores developments in alternative approaches to working with young people which would be more ethical, and concludes that Asset is structurally inadequate and morally unsound. The article concludes that although much of Almond’s criticism of Asset is justified, the worst effects of this are mitigated by the child-centred approach of YOT practitioners.
Social work and juvenile probation: historical tensions and contemporary convergences
- Author:
- PETERS Clark M.
- Journal article citation:
- Social Work: A journal of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), 56(4), October 2011, pp.355-365.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
While young people involved in the correctional system are among the most vulnerable and oppressed individuals in the United States today, social work has historically had a weak presence in this field. The field of juvenile probation shares roots with the profession of social work but lacks a strong connection to it today. Traditional explanations focus on the reluctance of social workers to engage clients in coercive environments, but analysis suggests that this account tells only part of the story. In recent decades, changes in attitudes regarding gender and working with coerced clients, as well as evidence of effective interventions, suggest that social workers may be ready to reengage meaningfully with juvenile probation and other corrections work. This article outlines steps in professional education and workforce development that would move the profession toward reintegrating social work into the corrections field. The author concludes that by reengaging with juvenile probation, social work can draw on its history and expertise to serve better the young people who are disproportionately poor, maltreated, mentally ill, and otherwise disadvantaged, who are entangled in the justice system.
Criminal negligence
- Author:
- TALBOT Jenny
- Journal article citation:
- Every Child Journal, 2(2), 2011, pp.20-25.
- Publisher:
- Imaginative Minds
- Place of publication:
- Birmingham
A large number of vulnerable young people with learning difficulties end up in prison because interagency work fails to address their needs. In response, the coalition government announced the abolition of the Youth Justice Boards in October 2010. Responsibility for youth justice now falls under the Ministry of Justice. This article is based on ‘Seen and Heard: supporting vulnerable children in the youth justice system’, which contains a series of recommendations for government departments and local services, including children’s and youth justice services, health care, local authorities and the judiciary. The article presents statistics relating to youth justice for vulnerable young people, before outlining the new policies coming into effect. It discusses methods to identifying children with impairments by youth offending teams, and highlights the necessity of early diagnosis and intervention. In ending, the article suggests the current policy overhaul provides an opportunity to standardise practice across children’s and youth justice services.
A gateway to crime
- Author:
- TAYLOR Amy
- Journal article citation:
- Young Minds Magazine, 108, October 2010, pp.22-23.
- Publisher:
- YoungMinds
In the context of the announcement that the new coalition government will get rid of anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs), this article focuses on ASBOs and the young people who receive them. It discusses what ASBOs were intended to do and their effects, noting that 16,999 ASBOs were issued from 1999 to 2008 and that of these more than 9,247 were breached. It looks at possible replacements for ASBOs and the importance of access to support services in the community for young people, particularly those with mental health problems, young offenders and those at risk of offending.
Inclusive approach
- Author:
- LITTLE Matthew
- Journal article citation:
- Children and Young People Now, 16.2.10, 2010, p.5.
- Publisher:
- Haymarket Business Publications Ltd
Youth Inclusion Programmes (YIPs) were first set up in 2000 and there are now about 130 in England and Wales. They are helping to divert high-risk young people away from offending.
Youth offending and youth justice
- Authors:
- BARRY Monica, MCNEIL Fergus, LIGHTOWLER Claire
- Publisher:
- The Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research
- Publication year:
- 2009
- Pagination:
- 4p.
- Place of publication:
- Glasgow
This briefing summarises an edited book with the same title, edited by Monica Barry and Fergus McNeill. Evidence suggests that youth offending is not increasing, and may in fact have decreased in the last decade or two, implying that the youth offending problem may be less significant than media, government and academic attention would suggest. Additionally, if we accept there is a youth crime problem, the inference that youth justice is the answer to it is not borne out by the evidence.
Home Affairs Committee report: young black people and the criminal justice system
- Author:
- PITTS John
- Journal article citation:
- Community Safety Journal, 7(1), February 2008, pp.4-8.
- Publisher:
- Pavilion
This article summarises the key findings of the recent Home Affairs Committee report 'Young Black People and the Criminal Justice System'.
Building police-youth relationships: the importance of procedural justice
- Author:
- HINDS Lyn
- Journal article citation:
- Youth Justice, 7(3), December 2007, pp.195-209.
- Publisher:
- Sage
A consistent body of research shows that a key reason that adults support police is that they view them as legitimate. This paper adds to the small number of studies to explore factors that influence young people's judgments of police legitimacy. Using data from a written survey of 14 to 16 year-old high school students in Australia, findings show that young people's attitudes toward police legitimacy are positively linked to police use of procedural justice. Prior negative contact with police is significantly associated with young people's judgments of lower police legitimacy. Implications for building better police-youth relationships are discussed.