Community Youth Justice: Policy, Practices, and Public Perception (From Community Justice: Issues for Probation and Criminal Justice, P 183-197, 2005, Jane Winstone and Francis Pakes, eds. -- See NCJ-211782)

• NCJ Number: 211792
• Author(s): Nikki McKenzie
• Date Published: 2005
• Length: 15 pages
• Sale Source: Willan Publishing
• Publication Format: Book Chapter
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This chapter critiques Great Britain's youth justice system, with attention to its incorporation of the principles of restorative and community justice.

Abstract

The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (CDA) and the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 (YJCEA) were the culmination of a period of consultation and evaluation of the youth justice system by both the Labour government and the Audit Commission. The policies advocated focus on parental responsibility, community participation, and restorative justice; however, changes in the youth justice system and the introduction of new orders have had the effect of criminalizing youth at an earlier point in their development. Although a restorative justice approach has been a positive move toward encouraging youth to be accountable for their offending, it can also perpetuate the blaming of youth for various social ills. The positive impact of restorative justice has been the empowering of citizens and youth within a system that traditionally has excluded their input. The new orders in the CDA and the YJCEA have allowed young offenders and their families to have a voice, while providing victims and the wider community with reparation and restitution for harms done by the offender. The effectiveness of such an approach, however, requires patient and time-consuming effort to prepare all these parties for constructive participation in case processing. This has posed problems for a system that has traditionally sought the swift administration of punitive justice. Coercion has also been used to gain participation in restorative justice interventions, which undermines its principles and compromises the outcome. Referral and reparation orders have also lacked victim involvement. Thus, although the statutory framework for restorative justice exists, its implementation is compromised by the continued vilification of youth in the media and a government response that reinforces punitiveness toward youth. 42 references