The youth justice system has recently undergone a radical overhaul. In this report, we trace what has happened since Misspent Youth was published in 1996 and take stock of the new reforms and the difference they have made. We identify what seems to be working well and what needs to be done now to build on the reforms and make them work better. As part of the study, we spoke to many people, from practitioners, to young people and parents who experience them first hand.
We found that:
- Young offenders are more likely to receive an intervention.
- Young offenders are dealt with more quickly.
- Magistrates are very satisfied with the service they receive from youth offending teams.
- Young offenders are more likely to make amends for their wrong-doing.
And we identified some areas where more could be done.
- Although crime overall has fallen (and youth crime has not increased), the public know little about the new reforms and their confidence in the youth justice system is low.
- While some young offenders are benefiting from early pre-court interventions, too many minor offences are taking up valuable court time.
- Although young offenders on bail are less likely to offend (and are therefore less of a risk to the community), large numbers are still being remanded to custody, especially black and mixed race young people.
- Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programmes (ISSPs) are a more constructive and considerably cheaper option for persistent young offenders than a spell in custody, but they cannot be expected to reduce custody on their own.
- In contrast to the continuing rise in the adult prison population, the juvenile prison population has remained stable, but black and minority ethnic young offenders are much more likely to be given custodial sentences than white young offenders.
Given the scope of the reforms and the relatively short space of time in which they have been up and running, it would be unwise to embark on further wholesale change. Some of the newer reforms, such as the Referral Order and ISSPs, have been operating for less than two years. But there are a number of ways to improve on the work that has been done so far.
- Focus courts on serious and persistent offenders.
- Improve what happens in court.
- Make sentencing more cost-effective.