9. Explaining youth crime and youth justice

Criminology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steve Case ◽  
Phil Johnson ◽  
David Manlow ◽  
Roger Smith ◽  
Kate Williams
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Subsequent Treatment ◽  
Youth Crime ◽  
Youth Justice ◽  
Socially Constructed ◽  
Childhood And Youth ◽  
Crime And Delinquency ◽  
Offending Behaviour ◽  
Over Time

This chapter deals with youth crime and youth justice: offending behaviour committed by children and young people and their subsequent treatment in the justice system. It considers the argument for a bespoke understanding and response to youth and crime as distinct from offending behaviour committed by adults. The discussion begins by looking at how the concepts of ‘childhood’ and ‘youth’ have been theorised and socially constructed over time. The chapter then examines how youth crime and ‘delinquency’ have been explained in individualised, developmental, and agentic terms; how young people may grow into crime, with particular emphasis on the role of culture in deviance; and the link between radicalisation and youth crime. It also describes the dominant formal responses to youth crime before concluding with an overview of progressive, contemporary approaches to delivering youth justice/responding to youth crime, namely, diversion and positive youth justice.

9. Youth offending and youth justice

2021 ◽  
pp. 237-271
Author(s):  
Steve Case ◽  
Phil Johnson ◽  
David Manlow ◽  
Roger Smith ◽  
Kate Williams
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Youth Justice ◽  
Children And Young People ◽  
Socially Constructed ◽  
Childhood And Youth ◽  
Offending Behaviour ◽  
Over Time

This chapter describes youth offending and youth justice: that is, offending behaviour committed by children and young people and how they are treated in the Youth Justice System. Society’s assumptions about what it means to be a child and what should be expected of children and young people in terms of their development and behaviour shape its views on and responses to youth offending. The chapter then looks at how the concepts of ‘childhood’ and ‘youth’ have been seen, theorised, and socially constructed over time, before moving on to consider explanations for youth offending and ‘delinquency’. Youth offending has tended to be explained in individualised terms, through developmental and psychological explanations. The chapter also evaluates the main formal responses to youth offending and assesses more progressive, contemporary approaches to youth offending and delivering youth justice.

Stability Matters

2019 ◽  
pp. 75-92
Author(s):  
Michael Gottfredson ◽  
Travis Hirschi
Keyword(s):  
Problem Behaviors ◽  
Critical Evaluation ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Prior Record ◽  
Control Concept ◽  
Crime And Delinquency ◽  
Common Problems ◽  
Crime Causation ◽  
Over Time

With regard to crime, stability does not imply once a crook always a crook, that levels of crime or problem behaviors remain at the same rate over time and do not fluctuate, or that crime is caused only by variation in self control. It does mean that some characteristic or characteristics of the person cause crime rate differences over large periods of time. This chapter reviews and critiques developmental criminology and longitudinal studies of crime causation. It provides a critical evaluation of the use of the concept of stability in research about crime and on how prior record and early childhood effects have been misspecified in criminology. In addition, it critically evaluates the turning points, transition, and desistence research. Critiques of tests of the self-control concept in developmental and life-course research are presented. The role of individual differences in sociological theories of crime and delinquency and common problems with inferences from longitudinal data are discussed.

scholarly journals Protecting the Best Interests of the Child: A Comparative Analysis of the Youth Justice Systems in Ireland, England and Scotland

2010 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raymond Arthur
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
International Law ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Best Interests ◽  
Youth Justice ◽  
Best Interest ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Government ◽  
Offending Behaviour ◽  
Best Interest Principle

AbstractIn the Republic of Ireland the government has proposed amending the Irish Constitution in order to improve children's rights. In this article I will argue that the proposed amendment represents a serious diminution in the rights historically afforded to young people who offend, disregards Ireland's commitments under international law and also ignores the well established link between child maltreatment and youth offending. The Irish approach echoes developments in the English youth justice system where the welfare concerns of young people who offend have become marginalised. I will compare the Irish and English approaches with the Scottish youth justice system which looks beyond young people's offending behaviour and provides a multi-disciplinary assessment of the young person's welfare needs. I will conclude that in Ireland, and in England, the best interest principle must be applied fully, without any distinction and integrated in all law relevant to children including laws regulating anti-social and offending behaviour.

scholarly journals ‘There’s Not Going to Be a Single Solution’: The Role of Resettlement Consortia in Improving the Resettlement Outcomes of Young People Leaving Custody

Youth Justice ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Gray ◽  
Hannah Smithson ◽  
Richard McHugh ◽  
Graham Smyth
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Process Evaluation ◽  
Youth Justice ◽  
Geographically Dispersed ◽  
Single Solution

As part of the government’s Transforming Youth Custody programme, in 2014 the Youth Justice Board (YJB) established four new resettlement consortia in four areas in England. This article presents the findings from a process evaluation of the new consortia, paying particular attention to the enablers and/or barriers that affected the implementation of an enhanced resettlement offer. We found that the consortia did appear to improve partnership working and collaboration between key agencies. Yet the delivery of an enhanced offer was often hampered by the geographically dispersed nature of the consortia, along with problems accessing suitable accommodation upon release.

“Why Do We Ask Them About Their Gender, If We Then Go on to Do Nothing with It?”

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Eric Baumgartner
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Potential Role ◽  
Hegemonic Masculinity ◽  
Young Men ◽  
Youth Justice ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Offending Behavior ◽  
Dominant Discourses

Boys and young men continue to make up 81 percent of the Youth Justice System (YJS) in England and Wales, yet dominant discourses on young people who have been identified as having offended largely neglect to examine the potential role of masculinity in offending and interventions. This article aims to fill the gap of research in this area by exploring the role masculinity may play as understood by practitioners. It concludes that practitioners closely link “localized forms of hegemonic masculinity” to offending behavior of boys and young men.

The changing mental health of children and adolescents: evidence for a deterioration?

1996 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 715-725 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Prosser ◽  
Paul McArdle
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Substance Abuse ◽  
Major Depression ◽  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
School Population ◽  
Childhood And Youth ◽  
Problem Behaviours ◽  
Changing Patterns ◽  
Offending Behaviour ◽  
Over Time

SynopsisThis paper reviews the evidence for changing patterns of mental health over time in childhood and youth in Western societies. The evidence suggests that the prevalence of major depression, substance abuse and offending behaviour, as well as the incidence of suicide, is increasing in adolescent populations, particularly among males. There are also indications that problem behaviours among younger children are becoming more common. There is no evidence of a deterioration in the adjustment of the pre-school population.

‘I was flying blind a wee bit’: Professionals’ perspectives on challenges facing communication assistance in the New Zealand youth justice system

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 104-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly Howard ◽  
Clare McCann ◽  
Margaret Dudley
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Young People ◽  
Qualitative Analysis ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Youth Justice ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Communication Difficulties ◽  
Criminal Charges

Communication assistance is a form of specialist support for witnesses and defendants in justice settings who have been identified as having communication difficulties. This relatively new role in New Zealand is modelled on the role of the intermediary in England and Wales. This research provides a qualitative analysis of professionals’ perspectives (n = 28 participants) on the challenges of communication assistance for young people facing criminal charges in the New Zealand youth justice system. The findings of this study do not question whether or not communication assistance should exist, but rather how it might best function in practice. The overall implications are that more education and guidance for youth justice professionals is needed.

scholarly journals Youth Crime: Problems and Solutions

2020 ◽  
pp. 084-091
Author(s):  
A. I. Belsky ◽  
◽  
E. N. Lykov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Juvenile Delinquency ◽  
Young People ◽  
Social Factors ◽  
Criminal Behavior ◽  
Youth Crime ◽  
Transition Stage ◽  
Problems And Solutions

The article deals with issues related to crimes committed by minors. Special attention is paid to the issue of the emergence of juvenile delinquency and the reasons that affect its spread. The causes of the emergence of juvenile delinquency, the determination of crime by biological or social factors, the role of the environment in the formation of juvenile criminal behavior and ways to reduce and eradicate youth crime are discussed. The article considers ways to solve problems related to the growth of crimes committed by minors. It is proposed to allocate and legislatively approve "youth crime" as a category of crimes. It includes a group of young people aged 18-24, and is considered a mandatory transition stage between juvenile and "adult" crimes. The article also proposes methods for preventing youth crime and measures to combat it.

The criminalization of sexuality

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gail Hawkes ◽  
Xanthé Mallet
Keyword(s):  
Social Identity ◽  
Sexual Behaviour ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
Medical Knowledge ◽  
Social Attitudes ◽  
Sexual Morality ◽  
Socially Constructed ◽  
Knowledge And Practice ◽  
Over Time

‘Sexuality’ is a fluid concept that has varied significantly across time and place. It is an aspect of social identity that means many different things to different people. The criminality of so-called deviant sexual behaviour is also socially constructed. The result is dissonance between the modern democratic notions of freedom of expression and current social sensibilities. This essay summarizes views toward acceptable sexual conduct throughout the Anglophone West, focusing on changes in British social attitudes and laws. It discusses the association of sex and sin that lay at the foundations of Western sexual morality. It follows the transformation of this connection through the secularization process associated with modernity and demonstrates the role of medical knowledge and practice in this regard. Changes to legislation over time will be used as evidence of shifting social attitudes, such as laws regarding the sexualized child, homosexual relationships, and rape within marriage.

scholarly journals What we talk about when we talk about vulnerability and youth crime: a narrative review

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Bui ◽  
Jo Deakin
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Real World ◽  
Social Disadvantage ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Narrative Review ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Youth Crime ◽  
Inclusion Criteria ◽  
Over Time

Describing young people who offend or who are more likely to offend as vulnerable or having vulnerability seems commonplace in the literature as of late. Although the use of vulnerability in the research literature on youth crime appears widespread, its meaning, nonetheless, is unclear: if not assumed or implicit, it fluctuates across studies. Because of this ambiguity, we systematically review the empirical literature on youth crime between 1990 to 2020 to gauge how vulnerability is understood now and over time. A total of 19 studies out of 631 original records met the inclusion criteria. The included studies neatly fit into pre-existing classifications of vulnerability from the research literature. The vast majority of the included studies appeared in the decade 2010 to 2019, and meanings of vulnerability as social disadvantage and risk first appeared during this time. Overall and underlying meanings of vulnerability as well as their research and real-world implications are discussed.

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