10 - General

Question 1

What is the Youth Justice System?

Answer 1

Youth justice system in England and Wales comprises the organs and processes that are used to prosecute, convict and punish persons under 18 years of age who commit criminal offences

The activities of the YJS are overseen by the Youth Justice Board (YJB)

Question 2

Legal Framework…

Answer 2

The age of criminal responsibility in England is 10 years.

The youth justice system (YJS) was set up under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. Its aim is to prevent young people offending or re-offending (S.37)

The formal YJS begins once a child or young person aged 10 or over (and under the age of 18) has committed an offence and receives a reprimand or a warning, or is charged to appear in court

Note that from 2013 reprimands and warnings were replaced by restorative solutions and cautions

Question 3

Influences…

Answer 3

How we respond to youth crime is not set in stone

Modern notions of child development and responsibility and the wider discourse of human rights have shaped our responses

Question 4

Previous Statistics…

Answer 4

The number of first-time entrants to the youth justice system has fallen to 21,016 ‒ a reduction of 11% compared to the previous year and a reduction of 78% since 2004

The number of young people in custody has reduced by 13% from the previous year to just 1,004, and by 62% since March 2005

Overall the number of young people who reoffend has also continued to decrease this year, although the 12-month reoffending rate for young people has increased by 1.3 percentage points to 36.6%

Question 5

Current Statistics…

Answer 5

The number of first-time entrants has now reduced by 83% since its peak in 2006

The number of reoffences committed by young people has reduced by 70% since its peak in 2007

Numbers in custody fell this year to a record low

Question 6

Old Justice vs. New Justice

Answer 6

Old - William Trimmer, aged 14, convicted of stealing two bottles of lemonade and sentenced in 1873 to 10 days’ hard labour and 5 days’ reformatory.

New - Petra Blanksby, aged 19 was on remand in 2003 for arson with intent to endanger life Petra had set fire to her mattress in her flat in an act of self harm and the life she endangered was her own. She had no previous criminal convictions.,.

Question 7

Development of the Welfare Principle…

Answer 7

Nineteenth Century saw children still being punished severely for what would be considered minor crimes today

Crucial development came about that courts need to treat children and young people differently to adults

1835 Select Committee on Goals and Houses of Correction

Pankhurst Prison 1838 (now HMP Isle of Wight)

Juvenile Offenders Act 1847

Enshrined in the 1933 Children Act – courts obliged to consider the welfare of a child and not treat them as small adults

Children Act 1989 (section 1)

Children Act 2004 (section 11)

Every child matters agenda

Question 8

Children and Young Person Act, 1933…

Answer 8

“Every court in dealing with a child or young person who is brought before it, either as an offender or otherwise, shall have regard to the welfare of the child or young person and shall in a proper case take steps for removing him from undesirable surroundings, and for securing that proper provision is made for his education and training.”

Section 44:(1),1933 Children and Young Person’s Act

Question 9

Further Developments…

Answer 9

Under Labour Government in 1969, the Children and Young Person Act 1969 changed the way young people in trouble were supervised in the community

Established ‘halfway house concept’

‘Intermediate treatment’

Attempt to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 – 14 (prior to 1963 it had been 8!) never enacted as Labour lost power

Question 10

Conservative Govt review: Terms of reference (report published in Summer 2016)…

Answer 10

The nature and characteristics of offending by young persons (10-17 years old) and current preventative arrangements

How effectively the current system and its partners operate in responding to youth offending, preventing reoffending, protecting the public and repairing harm to victims and communities, and rehabilitating young offenders

Whether the current leadership, governance and effectiveness of the youth justice system is effective in preventing offending, reoffending, and whether it is good value for money

Question 11

Interim report published in August 2016…

Answer 11

Re-designing the youth estate so that it can cater for a smaller, but a more challenging, group of children in custody

Placing education at the centre of youth custody, by drawing on the culture of aspiration and discipline which is evident in the best alternative provision schools

Replacing youth prisons with smaller secure schools which help children master the basics in English and maths as well as providing high quality vocational education in a more therapeutic environment

Giving local areas greater say in the way children are managed, by devolving responsibility, control and money from Whitehall

Question 12

Six Objectives…

Answer 12

Swift administration of Justice so that every young person accused of breaking the law has the matter resolved without delay

Confronting young people with the consequences of their offending for themselves, their family, their victims and the community and helping them to develop a sense of personal responsibility

Providing intervention that tackles the particular factors that put the young person at risk of offending (personal, family, social, educational or health) and strengthens protective factors

Punishment proportionate to the seriousness and persistence of the offending

Encouraging reparation to victim

Reinforcing parental responsibilities

Question 13

The secure estate for children and young people…

Answer 13

The secure estate for children and young people is the umbrella name for the establishments that hold children and young people who are in custody. They include young offender institutions (YOIs), secure training centres (STCs) and secure children’s homes (SCHs)

The secure estate provides custodial placements for 10-17 year olds, although some 18 year olds remain if they are near the end of their sentence

Question 14

Outcome…

Answer 14

Use of custody for young people declined in the 1980s remained low until early to mid 1990’s

Question 15

Guiding Legal Principles…

Answer 15

Again, the overall aim of the youth justice system is to prevent offending

Children should be treated differently to adults

Sanctions should be the least restrictive, detention is a last resort and should be for the shortest possible time period

Welfare is a primary consideration

Independent legal advice consulted fully about decisions that affect them

These guiding principles should underpin all decisions made about children and young people in the criminal justice system

Question 16

Youth Offending Teams…

Answer 16

Youth offending teams are part of your local council and are separate from the police and the courts.

They work with:
the police
probation officers
health, housing and children’s services
schools and education authorities
charities and the local community

Question 17

A reform Package that aimed to…

Answer 17

Provide a faster, more efficient procedure from arrest to sentence

Ensure that offenders and their parents face up to their offending behaviour and take responsibility for it

Provide a clear strategy to prevent offending and reoffending

Ensure earlier and more effective intervention when young people first offend

Facilitate partnership, between all agencies to deliver a better system
(The youth Justice System in England and Wales, Edition 1, page 5)

Question 18

Crime and Disorder Act 1998…

Answer 18

Changed the face of the Youth Justice System

Home office produced a framework document entitled ‘Crime, Let’s Bring it Down’ explained the new philosophy of the Youth Justice System

Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 – changed the way we dealt with young people who had offended for the first time

Question 19

Partnership…

Answer 19

Partnership working is key to achieving this central aim

All agencies and individuals within the Youth Justice System must work together

Question 20

New Youth Justice…

Answer 20

1996 Misspent youth – report by the audit commission described the current system as too costly, inefficient and ineffective

Court prosecution process too slow, not enough was being done to prevent offending behaviour, agencies involved were uncoordinated and contradictory, lack of effort and resources to prevent offending behaviour

Report made a number of recommendations and in 1997 New Labour came up with a Government White paper entitled ‘no more excuses a new approach to tackling youth crime in England and Wales’

Interpreted as no more excuses for young offenders or practitioners - punitive and retributive stance?

Provided the basis for the Crime and Disorder Act 1998.

“ An excuse culture has developed within the Youth Justice System. It excuses itself for its inefficiency, and too often excuses the young offender before it, implying that they cannot help their behaviour because of their social circumstances. Rarely are they confronted with their behaviour and helped to take more personal responsibility for their actions. The system allows them to go on wreaking their own lives as well as disrupting their families and communities.”
Comments made by Jack Straw then Home Secretary ‘no more excuses’ 1997

“ today’s young offenders can too easily become tomorrow’s hardened criminals…For too long we have assumed that young offenders will grow out of their offending if left to themselves. The research evidence shows that this does not happen…We will refocus resources and the talents of professionals on nipping offending in the bud, to prevent crime from becoming a way of life for so many young people.” (Home Secretary’s introduction to ‘No more excuses’, Home Office 1997)