NCJ Number
177249
Date Published
1997
Length
17 pages
Annotation
After reviewing and critiquing the management of juvenile offenders in Britain from the 18th century to the present, this paper, a lecture given by the Lord Chief Justice of England, recommends ways to improve England's response to juvenile offending.
Abstract
A review of recent studies of Britain's juvenile justice system shows that case processing is slow; prosecution is only partly effective; there are wide disparities in the use of cautioning for youth in various police areas; the system has failed to deal effectively with a core of habitual juvenile offenders; and the prosecution process is expensive. Given the ineffectiveness and detrimental impact of formal juvenile court processing, the number and quality of juvenile diversion programs should be improved. This paper briefly describes seven such programs that are operating successfully both in the United Kingdom and other countries. The small core of serious, habitual juvenile offenders should be identified and given incapacitating punitive sentences. Every effort should be made to improve the speed and effectiveness of the court processing of such offenders. If juvenile cases are to be handled effectively, there must be cooperation among all juvenile justice agencies, including the police, probation services, social services, the health and education authorities, and other agencies, both public and private, that focus on youth. Although the advice and support of the central government is invaluable, it is important that local authorities develop community-based schemes that target the root causes of juvenile offending in their communities. 50 references