Different but equal? Exploring potential catalysts of disparity in remand decision-making in the youth court

The disproportionate use of remand detention (i.e. pre-trial detention) for vulnerable and marginalized youth is an issue of concern globally and demographic disparities in youth remand decision outcomes have been found in many jurisdictions, including England and the Netherlands. This article aims to explore and identify potential catalysts of disparity in the collective process of remand decision-making in youth courts. Drawing from Ulmer’s ‘inhabited institutions’ perspective, and the related ‘court community model’ and ‘focal concerns model’, and empirical findings from research in Dutch and English youth remand courts, this article suggests that several distinctive mechanisms and features of the youth remand decision-making process might function as catalysts of disparity. The findings indicate that the focus on ‘risk’ and ‘welfare needs’, the distinctive context defined by time constraints, limited information, shortages of readily available services, interdependency and interdisciplinary, and high stakes, combined with the profoundly human nature of courtroom workgroup decision-making, make the remand decision-making process in youth courts particularly prone to producing unwarranted disparities. Ultimately, informed by the theoretical perspectives and empirical findings, the article provides insights into how and why disparities might occur in youth remand decisions and offers suggestions for policy, practice and future research.

Youth Court: A Restorative Practice? A Case to Consider

The current case demonstrates the complexities of utilizing Youth Court as a restorative practice in an urban high school, by focusing on the complexities it presents for one student in particular. In this case, there are reasons why Youth Court clearly is not working at this particular school site as intended. However, more importantly for leadership preparation, the case surfaces dilemmas of cultural difference, teacher preparation, leadership preparation, and school policy that leaders must address prior to restorative implementation in order to ensure sustainable restorative practice moving forward.

25. Prosecuting Young Offenders

Where a prosecution is commenced against a child aged 10 to 13 years or against a young person aged 14 to 17 years, the general rule is that he will be tried and sentenced in the youth court. The youth court adopts more informal and less adversarial procedures to deal with the needs and vulnerabilities of young defendants. However, there are exceptional situations (grave offences and dangerous offenders) where they will be tried in the Crown Court or when jointly charged with an adult sometimes in the adult magistrates’ court. This chapter discusses the rules for deciding where a young person is to be tried; the rules for trying a young person in the Crown Court; the rules for trying a young person in the adult magistrates’ court; the young defendant’s right to court bail; and the procedure in the youth court.

Sentencing explanations provided via judicial remarks made within the English magistrates’ youth court: Towards a better global understanding

This article qualitatively explores the English judicial approach towards sentencing explanations via remarks made within the magistrates’ youth court. First, the extent of their correlation with the three known purposes behind sentencing explanations is considered within a wider introductory discussion. Second, judicial interviews provide new insights regarding the extent of their alignment with the introductory discussion by indicating degrees of correlation. Third, the English judicial approach towards sentencing explanations and the degrees of correlation are concluded upon. Finally, recommendations are made to assist in a better understanding of sentencing explanations globally, particularly in jurisdictions where their publication has increased.

Equality in the Youth Court: Meaning, Perceptions and Implications of the Principle of Equality in Youth Justice

Equality is a fundamental principle, also in youth justice. Nevertheless, children from ethnic minorities, children with disabilities and children from low socioeconomic backgrounds are vastly overrepresented in youth detention populations across the globe. This article combines interdisciplinary theoretical perspectives and empirical findings from interviews with practitioners from two English youth courts to explore the meaning, perceptions and implications of the principle of equality in the specific context of the youth court. Ultimately, this article presents the first contours of a conceptual model of equality in the youth court, which aims to inform policy, practice and future research.

Juvenile Psychopathy and Community Treatment Response in Youth Adjudicated for Sexual Offenses

The present study examined the association of juvenile psychopathy features and treatment response in a sample of 102 youth, court adjudicated for sexual offenses and followed up more than 11 years in the community. The Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL: YV) was rated from comprehensive archival sources, along with a youth sexual offense risk assessment and treatment planning measure scored pre-and posttreatment. The PCL: YV converged with domains of sexual offense risk and change in conceptually meaningful ways, and significantly predicted nonsexual violent, general violent, and any recidivism; it did not significantly predict sexual recidivism. Higher levels of psychopathy-related personality features were significantly associated with noncompletion of youth sexual offense-specific treatment, while changes in risk were associated with decreased recidivism controlling for PCL: YV score and baseline risk at p < .10. The findings underscore the importance of intervention and support services for youth convicted of sexual offenses as well as the clinical and risk relevance of the juvenile psychopathy construct to decrease violent victimization to others.

DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN'S RIGHTS IN POLAND – SELECTED ASPECTS

Children’s rights are human rights, they result from the personal dignity and uniqueness of the child as a person. They apply to every child, they cannot be stripped away or renounced. It also means that if a child has a right, the state must ensure that it can be exercised. Further, if the child has a certain right, it means that there must also be procedures to enforce it. The beginning of the international movement for the protection of children's rights dates back to 1874, when the first organization for the protection of children's rights, the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, was founded in The United States. In Europe, at a similar time, since 1880, international societies of criminologists, youth court judges, care for abandoned and homeless children were being established to work on relaxing the criminal law for minors or establishing educational and care facilities for children. It was in the 19th century when the rights of the child were discussed in Poland for the first time. Moral, religious, or customary norms regulated children’s place in the community. However, the development of these rights was a long process that had started in Poland much earlier. The article aims to present selected historical situations affecting the development process and the current state of children's rights in Poland.

25. Prosecuting Young Offenders

Where a prosecution is commenced against a child aged 10 to 13 years or against a young person aged 14 to 17 years, the general rule is that he will be tried and sentenced in the youth court. The youth court adopts more informal and less adversarial procedures to deal with the needs and vulnerabilities of young defendants. However, there are exceptional situations (grave offences and dangerous offenders) where they will be tried in the Crown Court or when jointly charged with an adult sometimes in the adult magistrates’ court. This chapter discusses the rules for deciding where a young person is to be tried; the rules for trying a young person in the Crown Court; the rules for trying a young person in the adult magistrates’ court; the young defendant’s right to court bail; and the procedure in the youth court.

Setting the Scene

Criminal trials in England and Wales take one of two forms. They are either trials on indictment or summary trials. Trial in the youth court, which might at first sight appear to be a third distinct form of trial, is in fact a special form of summary trial. Parts 2 and 3 of this book will deal in detail with, respectively, summary trial and trial on indictment. The following two Paragraphs will give an indication of the salient characteristics of the two methods of trial.