Lecture 5 - Youth Justice

Question 1

Crime and Disorder Act - 1998

Answer 1

The overall aim was to reduce crime and disorder in communities by making the justice system more effective in dealing with young offenders and anti-social behaviour.

Question 2

Doli Incapax

Answer 2

• ‘The Age of Criminal Responsibility’.
• Changed to 10 years old (in response to the Jamie Bulger case)

Question 3

Prior to Crime and Disorder Act 1998

Answer 3

• Before the New Labour Government introduced the CDA 1998, responses to crime were uncoordinated.
• Police, probation, education, victim support, etc… were all working separately.
• CDA 1998 attempted to create coordination of all of these. Termed multi-agency cooperation.
• Forced disparate agencies to work together.
• Youth Justice was one area where this was practices, and based on restorative justice principles - in contrast to retributive.

Question 4

The Youth Justice System post 1998 (Crawford, A and Newburn, T. 2003)

Answer 4

• New laws for those 10-17 years old.
• Plead guilty for first time offence.
• At completion = spent conviction (never spent)
• Victim-centred.

Question 5

Reducing reoffending

Answer 5

• Final warning
• Referral order
• Youth rehabilitation order

Question 6

Referral Order

Answer 6

A referral order is a Criminal Court Order that lasts between 3 and 12 months and is given to most young people for a first conviction that they have admitted in court.
- Must be imposed on any youth with no previous convictions who pleads guilty to any imprisonable offence, unless the court is considering an absolute discharge, conditional discharge, mental health act order or custody.

Question 7

General criticisms of referral orders:

Answer 7

• Representative panel members?
• Lack of clarity: do young people understand the process? or language?
• Victim-awareness issues: who are the victims?
• Lack of focus: too many or too few organisations.

Question 8

Current ‘Child First’ policy: 2009-Present

Answer 8

The court ruled that a prosecution decision could be challenged if there was inadequate inquiry into the accused’s circumstances and background. This emphasizes the need to gather sufficient information about the youth’s home life and history before deciding to prosecute.

Question 9

Youth Rehabilitation Order

Answer 9

YROs provide a proportionate response to offending behavior and can be used for any offense if certain criteria are met, including sufficient evidence and the youth’s admission. However, YROs cannot be issued for certain serious offenses, like murder or rape, without CPS approval, and must be applied to persistent offenders.

Question 10

Persistent Offender Definition

Answer 10

A court determines a persistent offender by assessing whether the young person continues to offend. Typically, this involves prior contact with authorities where the offending behavior was addressed.

Question 11

Who are the offenders?

Answer 11

• Overrepresented groups are black, Muslim and white working-class boys, many are in care, and mental and other health problems, and learning difficulties, are common.
• These groups are particularly over-represented in custody, a large proportion have
  previously been in care (38% in Young Offender Institutions, 52% in Secure Training
  Centres), and more than a third have a diagnosed mental health disorder.

Question 12

Figures show that Black children account for 4% of the 10-17 year old
population (Census data, 2011) but:

Answer 12

• 18% of stop and searches (where ethnicity was known)
• 15% of arrests
• 12% of children cautioned or sentenced