Justice for youth versus a curriculum of conformity in schools and prisons (original) (raw)

Young People and Youth Justice

1998

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A Return to Social Justice: Youth Justice, Ideology and Philosophy

2018

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Towards a positive youth justice

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to consider and explore the principles that should inform a positive and progressive approach to conceptualising and delivering youth justice. Design/methodology/approach – Critical literature review, incorporating primary research and evaluation conducted by the authors. Findings – A children first model of positive youth justice should cohere around the promotion of four key principles: children's rights and adults' responsibilities; desistance and inclusion; diversion and systems management; relationship-based partnerships between children and practitioners. Practical implications – The child-friendly, child-appropriate and legitimacy-focused nature of the Children first, offender second (CFOS) model can encourage diversion from formal system contact, can enhance levels of participation and engagement with formal youth justice interventions and promotes positive behaviours and outcomes for children in trouble. Originality/value – The principles outlined progress youth justice into positive forms antithetical to the negative elements of the " new youth justice " and will have relevance to other jurisdictions, rooted as they are in universality, child development and children's rights.

Canadian Youth Justice Congress Presentation 2018.pptx

Against the backdrop of human development and research on crime patterns and penal practices, incarcerated young adults stand out as a population in need of advocacy and support because of an important intersection of circumstances. First, it has long been recognized that the majority of crime including a large portion of violent crime is committed during adolescence and young adulthood. Second conclusive research indicates that incarcerating people does not facilitate rehabilitation, increases the likelihood a person re-offends, and exacerbate trauma and mental health issues. Third the part of our brain that's responsible for rational thinking and mature decision making is not fully developed until our mid 20s. This presentation is based on masters research that explores a survey administered to adult prisoners in Nova Scotia to assess for differences between young adults (18-25) and adults over 25 years of age in life experiences, family connection, and family contact during incarceration. The three key findings/topics covered in this presentation are as follows: (1) the young adults in this sample reported a higher rate of harsh life experiences, that more closely align with research on juvenile needs, which therefore demonstrates higher and/or different support needs than older adults , (2) reports of family life experiences of prisoners, their parents and their children reflect changes that suggest shifts in parenting and family/society's values and, (3) family contact data points to the need for, and potential areas of improvement for policy changes that could better facilitate the strengthening of prisoners family bonds as motivation (and support) towards rehabilitation and reintegration

Experiencing Youth Justice: Process, Meaning and Legitimacy

Significant reforms to the youth justice system in Northern Ireland were instituted following the Good Friday Agreement and the Criminal Justice Review (2000). The passage of the Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 2002 led to the establishment of a separate agency for the administration of youth justice and placed restorative-based youth justice conferencing on a statutory basis. Following devolution of policing and justice powers and a commitment of the Hillsborough Agreement the Minister for Justice established a Review of the Youth Justice System. The Review reported in 2011 and made a number of recommendations aimed amongst other things at addressing delays within the system, police interactions with young people; the overrepresentation of Looked After Children within the youth justice system and proportionate sentences . The Youth Justice Review also recommended increasing the Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility from 10 to 12 with immediate effect, and that following review and within a period of no more than three years further consideration should be given to raising the age to 14. A raise in the age of criminal responsibility would ensure greater consistency with other responsibilities (such as the age of sexual consent) and it would bring Northern Ireland more in line with other jurisdictions across Europe. While this recommendation was ‘accepted in principle’ it has not yet been acted upon. A lack of political agreement on the issue has been cited as the reason for this (Department of Justice, 2014). The Review further recommended that the aims of the youth justice system should reflect the ‘paramountcy principle’ espoused in the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). Namely that the youth justice system should reflect the ‘best interests’ of children and young people. This recommendation has been accepted and is included in the Justice Bill currently before the Assembly. Specific recommendations in relation to youth custody concerned the need to reduce the use of the Juvenile Justice Centre (JJC) for remands and PACE admissions (i.e. young people held under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act). The latest publicly available data on the numbers of young people dealt with by the Youth Justice Agency shows an overall reduction in the average daily population held in the Juvenile Justice Centre. In 2013/14 the total average daily population was 27, compared to 32 in 2007/08 (Decodts and O’Neill, 2014). However, the data also shows that the throughput of young people remains constant. There is significant movement of young people across different admission categories indicating a ‘churn’ within the system involving young people who experience multiple system contact. Most of the time the remand population exceeds the sentenced population within the JJC. Admissions under PACE take place most frequently at the weekends. The overrepresentation of Looked After young people within the youth justice system remains an area of concern. A recent inspection report documents for example, that 40% of referrals for youth conferencing are for young people who are Looked After (CJINI, 2015) and data from the Youth Justice Agency shows that looked after young people constitute a significant proportion of referrals to the JJC (Decodts and O’Neill, 2014).

Ty, R. (2010). Education for Justice

Determined by socio-economic relations, justice is a norm important in social and political consciousness. However, because of its universal significance, justice is also relatively independent of specific economic or political life. A gap exists, as while many educators use justice as a concept in teaching and learning, many do not even have a basic definition. This paper provides implications to educational policy and practice.

Just deserts? Developing practice in youth justice

Learning in Health and Social Care, 2008

This paper considers the issues involved in developing a programme for youth justice practitioners. Contemporary youth justice practice occurs in an increasingly managerialist and punitive context raising questions about how best to develop effective practitioners. It is argued that youth justice practice involves a recurring challenge of meeting situations of high complexity that must be dealt with on a caseby-case basis, guided by a clear understanding of how offending behaviour is constituted. The Professional Certificate in Effective Practice is reviewed and it is argued that education must emphasise reflective understanding. A critique of competency based education in relation to the Diploma in Probation Studies is also presented arguing that such an approach renders invisible important aspects of practice. Recommendations are made for a curriculum for a youth justice programme which stresses humanism, reflective understanding of context and history, criminology, sociology and psychology, social exclusion, social control, risk, victimology and comparative youth justice.