Youth justice

Drawing on Ireland’s experience of transforming law, policy and practice and combining theory with real-life experiences, this compelling book demonstrates how a progressive rights-based approach to child detention can be implemented.

Whereas crime more generally has fallen over the last 20 years, levels of serious youth violence remain high. This book explores the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and serious youth violence and advocates for a more psychosocial approach to trauma-informed policy and practice within the youth justice system.

Youth violence dominates headlines and politicians’ attention and many organisations invest considerable resources in an attempt to reduce it. This book examines how inequality and social harms drive such violence and highlights key future goals for policymakers, researchers and practitioners.

This edited collection offers the first system-wide account of the impact of COVID-19 on crime and justice in England and Wales. Integrating first-hand narratives, it provides a critical discussion of the challenges faced by criminal justice agencies, together with policy and practice recommendations for future pandemic planning.

Greece is a key EU entry country for unaccompanied migrant minors seeking safety but such children are frequently criminalised through detention processes. Giving voice to migrant children throughout, Papadopoulos promotes child-friendly practices and the safeguarding of fundamental rights.

With fascinating ethnographic and interview data, James Alexander explores the disappearance of localised relationships and the rise in youth violence in a South London housing estate. Evaluating the effectiveness of youth work programmes, he considers the impact of the gradual move from neighbourly to professional support for young people.

‘Desistance’ - understanding how people move away from offending – has become a significant policy focus in recent years, with desistance thinking transplanted from the adult to the youth justice system in England and Wales. This book is the first to critique this approach to justice-involved children.

Young people ‘on-road’ are often criminalised due to interlocking structural inequalities. Looking beyond concerns about gangs, the book addresses the concerns of practitioners, policy makers and scholars in analysing aspects and misinterpretations of the shifting realities of young people’s urban life.

This exciting new book outlines the state of practice now in flux within structures created by New Labour but moving in a different direction under the Coalition Government. It explores opportunities for a fresh orientation that places young people at the centre and works collaboratively to nurture strengths, competences and capital.

Revisiting the young men interviewed in Deuchar’s original fieldwork in Glasgow, this dynamic book explores the evolving nature of gangs and the contemporary challenges affecting young people, including drug distribution, football-related bigotry and the mental health repercussions emerging from social media.

The UK’s ‘Prevent’ strategy aims to prevent radicalisation and often engages with women as mothers; enlisted to watch over their families.

This book reveals how Prevent goes beyond counterterrorism, to fund projects such as support for victims of domestic violence and parenting courses, shaping wider engagement with women in society.

Current youth justice policy aims to introduce principles of restorative justice and involve victims in responses to crime. The challenges involved in delivering this in a form that is sensitive to victims are considerable. This report provides an evaluation of the manner in which one Youth Offending Service sought to integrate victims.