VII Jornada de Medi Obert de Justícia Juvenil, que va tenir lloc al Centre d'Estudis Jurídics i Formació Especialitzada el 4 d'octubre de 2012

1. VII Jornada de Medi Obert de Justícia
Juvenil
Justícia Juvenil a Inglaterra i Gales
Rob Canton
(De Montfort University, Leicester, England)
Barcelona, 4 d’octubre de 2012
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2. Juvenile Justice in England and Wales:
Theory and Policy Context
Rob Canton

3. Young offenders
Are young offenders children and
young people who need understanding,
patience, help and welfare ?
Or are they young offenders – out of
control and a threat?
Are they often both?
3

4. Anti-social behaviour
Estimates that there are more
than 5 million incidents of anti-
social behaviour
But 15 years ago we didn’t bother
to count them
Anti-Social Behaviour Order
(ASBO) introduced as a fast
response to low level
misbehaviour
Criminalising problem behaviour
and encouraging intolerance
4

5. 5

6. Care or Punishment and Control: The
politics of criminal justice
Crime is a very central political topic
Young people commit a large
proportion of crime
Politicians are keen to guard against
any accusation that they are “soft on
crime”
But we should oppose the idea that
being tough leads to less crime
6

7. Age – Crime Curve
7

8. Factors associated with offending by young
people
Individual factors (e.g. low intelligence,
hyperactivity, risk-taking, low empathy)
Family factors (e.g. poor parenting, harsh
discipline, child abuse or neglect, parental
conflict, criminal parents or siblings)
Socio-economic factors (e.g. low family income,
poor housing)
Peer factors (e.g. delinquent peers, peer
rejection)
School factors
Neighbourhood factors (e.g. living in a deprived,
high crime neighbourhood). 8

9. Early intervention – or minimum
intervention?
Since so many of these factors have their
influence from early childhood, should the state
be looking to intervene early?
Can we identify the right people who need this
early intervention?
… or is it better to keep young people out of the
criminal justice for as long as possible ?
Growing out of crime
But some people will not grow out of crime – or
will commit lots of crimes before they do
9

10. Resilience
Many young people have lots of these
problems …
But still do not go on to offend
This has prompted research into
protective factors or resilience
Parallels with desistance research
which asks (not Why do people
offend?, but) How do people come to
stop offending?
10

11. Assessment
RNR:
• Risks
• Needs (especially needs associated with offending)
• Right approach (different people learn in different ways)
but also:
Strengths
Aspirations
Obstacles to desistance (including needs
not directly crime-related)
Motivation
Interventions / resources that might be
made available

12. Agencies working together
Since crime seems to be linked with so
many factors, prevention and response
require the involvement of several
agencies working together
12

13. Youth Offending Teams
Youth Offending Teams include staff from
police, social work, probation, health and
education services
The skills and resources of these agencies
can achieve much more together than
they could alone
Many links are obvious – for example, not
going to school can lead to crime; drug
use is associated with health risks and
problems
13

14. Youth Offending Teams
Tasks and responsibilities
1. Assessment and intervention work
2. Bail support and supervision
3. Services for placing young people on
remand (waiting to go to court)
4. Pre-sentence reports
5. Supervising young people on court orders
6. Work with young people in custody and
after their release
14

15. Sentencing Guidelines Council:
General approach
Offence seriousness is the starting point
for sentencing
Sentence must be in proportion to this
When sentencing an offender aged under
18, a court must have regard to:
a) the principal aim of the youth justice
system (to prevent offending by children
and young persons); and
b) the welfare of the offender.
15

16. General Approach
“In addition to the statutory provisions, a
court sentencing a young offender must be
aware of obligations under a range of
international conventions which emphasise
the importance of avoiding ‘criminalisation’
of young people whilst ensuring that they
are held responsible for their actions and,
where possible, take part in repairing the
damage that they have caused.”
16

17. Sentencing Guidelines Council
Key elements in determining sentence
age of the offender (chronological /
emotional)
the seriousness of the offence,
the likelihood of further offences
the extent of harm likely from any further
offences.
The approach to sentence will be
individualistic
Proper regard should be had to the mental health and capability of the young
person, and to any learning disability, learning difficulty, speech and language
difficulty or other disorder…
17

18. Pre-Sentence Report
To help the Court to decide on the most suitable
sentence
Written by a member of the Youth Offending
Team
Individual background and circumstances
Discussion of the offence
Assessment of risks – especially risks of further
offending - and needs linked with these risks
Conclusion (which usually includes a discussion
of the likely effects of the sentences the Court
may be considering)
18

19. Structured Assessment
OASys – ASSET
Tightly linked with ideas of ‘what
works’ and the Risk, Needs,
Responsibilities (RNR) model
19

20. Relationship
Research shows that helping people to
change needs skills of relationship and
mutual trust
Need to gain and work with the
individual’s consent
Key professional skill for everyone who
works with young people

21. Youth Justice in England – a Critique
The current system is failing: 72% of young people
released from custody are reconvicted within a year
(Ministry of Justice, 2011)
Values must change: children are children first and
foremost. It is important to separate who they are from
what they have done.
The age of criminal responsibility should be raised.
England has been criticised by the United Nations
Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) for the
young age (10).
Of all the interventions for children, imprisonment is the
most damaging and least effective. The use of custody
should be reserved for the very few children who commit
the most serious and violent offences.

22. The Council of Europe
Sets standards – based on the European
Convention on Human Rights
Inspects (for example, the Committee for
the Prevention of Torture)
Enables cooperation and development

23. The need for Rules
Council of Europe wants to promote
consistency and continuity across Europe
This includes developing good practice – for
example, sound assessment and effective
programmes to try to change young people’s
behaviour
Founded on agreed ethical principles
Youth justice needs to be better understood
by Judiciary and Prosecutors

24. International
European Rules for juvenile offenders
subject to sanctions or measures (see
http://snipurl.com/23pdjvy)
“All juvenile justice and welfare systems are based
on the principles of social integration and education.
This leaves a much lesser place, and in some
countries no place at all, for the principle of general
deterrence or other (more punitive) aims that are a
feature of the criminal justice system for adults.”

25. European Rules for juvenile offenders
Rules set out the implications of the European
Human Rights Convention for the organisation,
policies and practice of probation agencies
Expectation that countries will implement the
Rules and promote training on them
Rules have implications for practitioners and
managers …
… and also for Judges and Prosecutors in their
daily practice

26. Rules
Scope and definition
Community sanctions and measures, legal
framework, conditions of implementation
and consequences of non-compliance
Deprivation of liberty(including
institutional structure, placement,
admission, accommodation, hygiene and
health)
Foreign nationals, ethnic and linguistic
minorities, juveniles with disabilities.
26

27. More Rules
Legal advice, complaints procedures
and monitoring
Staff, including their training
Evaluation, research, work with the
media and the public
27

28. Diversity and Individualisation
Rules make explicit reference to the need to respect
diversity and to avoid discrimination
Diversity principle: the many ways in which people are
different – and also alike
Sanctions should be based on the best interests of the
young person - an individual decision, taking into account
age, physical and mental well-being, development,
capacities and personal circumstances
Often court reports can give this information
Policies often refer to the importance of rigorous
assessment of the risks posed by the individual – but also
the risks to them, as young people who are often
vulnerable

29. Basic Principle #6: “In order to adapt the
implementation of sanctions and
measures to the particular circumstances
of each case the authorities responsible
for the implementation shall have a
sufficient degree of discretion without
leading to serious inequality of
treatment.”
29

30. How should agency policy deal with this?
What can be done to make sure that the
exercise of discretion does not lead to
unfairness?
30

31. Cooperation and active participation of
offender
Rules encourage staff to try to gain the active
participation and co-operation of offenders
And involvement of the family
Supervision is not just monitoring and control
Assistance, guidance, encouragement
Relationships are key in motivating and
supporting change

32. Rule # 31.2. “Juveniles shall be
encouraged to discuss matters relating to
the implementation of community
sanctions and measures and to
communicate individually or collectively
with the authorities about these
matters.”
32

33. How should agencies encourage this?
What opportunities are given to young
people to express their views about their
dealings with the agency? Are there clear
procedures in place? Are any such
procedures genuinely accessible to all
service users?
33

34. Multi- Agency working
The Juvenile Rules refer to multi-
disciplinary and inter-agency approaches
…
Emphasising the importance of
approaches that promote social inclusion
and social integration
Youth justice services cannot work in
isolation

35. Mutual respect
Understanding Managers and practitioners
Communication
Organisation

36. Questions
What are the main differences between the approach to
young offenders in England and in Catalonia?
In general should courts think more about care or about
control when sentencing young offenders?
Are principles of restorative justice important in working
with young offenders?
Are there ways in which parents can be helped to be
better parents?
What is the most important thing that England might be
able to learn from Catalonia?
What is the most important thing that Catalonia might
be able to learn from England?