This report looks at how young people aged 15 to 18 describe their own experience of imprisonment in 2010-11. The number of children and young people in custody, held in young offender institutions, continued to fall during 2010-11 from 1,977 to 1,822. As a result, in 2010-11 the children and young people's estate has reduced, with 710 spaces decommissioned and five young offender institutions closed, including a unit for young women. Demographic information indicates a changing profile of the children and young people in custody and reflects the vulnerability of the population. The proportion of black and minority ethnic young men, already over-represented, rose to 39% (from 33% in 2009-10), the number of foreign national young men increased to 6% (from 4% in 2009-10) and the number who identified as Muslim reached 16% (compared with 13% in 2009-10). However, this report found that while conditions for some had improved, for the majority the experience had deteriorated. Compared with 2009/10, young men were less positive about their treatment in reception and the facilities offered on arrival, and fewer said that they felt safe on their first night.

This report contains comprehensive information on state and territory child protection and support services, and the characteristics of Australian children within the child protection system. Key findings include: since 2009-10, the number of children subject to a notification decreased by 13% from 187,314 to 163,767; since 2006-07, the number of children subject to a substantiation of a notification has decreased by 7% from 34,028 to 31,527 (6.9 to 6.1 per 1,000 children); the number of children in out-of-home care has increased by 5% from 35,895 in 2010 to 37,648 in 2011.

Public authorities have a duty to ensure looked after children are not at greater risk of being drawn into the criminal justice system than other children. The relevant authorities must continue to support looked after children and care leavers when they are in, and when they leave, custody. The substantial decrease since 2006/07 in the number of young people entering the criminal justice system for the first time is welcomed but looked after children have not benefited from this shift to the same extent as other children. The Youth Justice Board has done excellent work to halve the youth custodial population over the past decade but continues to spend £246 million a year detaining a small fraction of young offenders. Recommendations include: a statutory threshold to enshrine in legislation the principle that only the most serious and prolific young offenders should be placed in custody; devolving the custody budget to enable local authorities to invest in effective alternatives to custody; and more action to reduce the number of young people who breach the terms of their community sentences and the number of young black men in custody. The aim of improving the basic literacy of offenders, as outlined in the Transforming Youth Custody consultation paper is endorsed, but is it most useful to focus resources on the secure estate, given that the average length of stay is currently 79 days? The greater focus should be on improving transition between custody and the community, and on improving provision in the community and incentivising schools and colleges to take back difficult students.

There is a pressing need for more prison places in Wales. There are only four prisons in Wales, all of which are in South Wales. The Committee urges the Government to be flexible in its approach, which would be consistent with the considered views expressed in recent reports by the Justice Select Committee.

This book offers a comprehensive and engaging introduction to the criminal justice system of England and Wales. Starting with an overview of the main theories of the causes of crime, this book explores and discusses the operation of the main criminal justice agencies including the police, probation and prison services and the legal and youth justice systems. The fourth edition has been revised, updated, expanded and features a new expert co-author. This book offers a lively and critical discussion of some of the main themes in criminal justice, from policy-making and crime control, to diversity and discrimination, to the global dimensions of criminal justice, including organised crime and the role performed by transnational policing organisations to combat it. Key updates to this new edition include: increased discussion of the measurement, prevention and detection of crime; a revised chapter on the police which discusses the principle of policing by consent, police methods, power and governance, and the abuse of power; further discussion of pressing contemporary issues in criminal justice, such as privatisation, multi-agency working, community-based criminal justice policy and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the delivery of criminal justice policy; a revised chapter that deals in detail with new and emerging forms of criminality and the response of the UK and global criminal justice system to these developments. This accessible text is essential reading for students taking introductory courses in criminology and criminal justice. A wide range of useful features include review questions, lists of further reading, timelines of key events and a glossary of key terms.

This book draws upon data collected over an 18 year period with over 1000 boys and young men across Northern Ireland. Providing critical reflections on violence, masculinity and education, it uses the voices and experiences of young men to inform and influence research, practice and policy.

Long sentenced young people are a small but significant part of the juvenile prison population. The current approach to young people convicted of serious crime speaks to wider issues in criminal and social justice, including the idealisation of (some) childhoods, processes of racialisation and identity and the sociology of the body. Analysing the relationships between biography, trauma and habitus reveals the ways in which class, racial and legal status are experienced and resisted. Young Men's Experiences of Long-Term Imprisonment: Living Life considers the need for the reinvigoration of prison ethnography and calls for a phenomenological approach to understanding youth crime and punishment. An insightful ethnographic study on imprisoned 15- to 17-year-olds in England, this volume examines how young people experience long-term imprisonment, manage their time and imagine and shape their futures. Drawing on observations, interviews and correspondence, Tynan situates long-term imprisonment of young men within the wider social context of criminal and social justice; and analyses constructs and practices that locate responsibility for crime with individuals and communities. Young Men's Experiences of Long-Term Imprisonment: Living Life will be of interest to students and researchers interested in the sociology of prisons, punishment and youth justice and qualitative research methodology.

How can youth justice refocus its attention on the rights and perspectives of young people in transition? Foundations for Youth Justice outlines youth justice practices in their current state of flux in the United Kingdom as New Labour policies receive direction under the vastly different Coalition Government. Anne Robinson explores opportunities for a fresh orientation that places young people at the center. She outlines the risks and problems that modern society creates for them and asks when, and how, society should respond to youth behaviors that cause harm to others. The result is a bold—and realistic—remodelling of youth justice practices.

The exciting new edition of this well-loved textbook offers a fully expanded and revised account and analysis of the youth justice system in the UK, taking into account and fully addressing the significant changes that have taken place since the second edition in 2007. The book maintains its critical analysis of the underlying assumptions and ideas behind youth justice, as well as its policy and practice, laying bare the inadequacies, inconsistencies and injustices of practice in the UK. This edition will offer an important update in light of intervening changes, as reflected in a change of government and shifting patterns of interventions and outcomes. This book will be an important resource for youth justice practitioners and will also be essential to students taking courses in youth crime and youth justice.