VII Jornada de Medi Obert de Justícia Juvenil

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Justícia Juvenil a Inglaterra i Gales

Rob Canton(De Montfort University, Leicester, England)

Barcelona, 4 d’octubre de 2012

Juvenile Justice in England and Wales:Theory and Policy Context

Rob Canton

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?

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Anti-social behaviour

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

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Care or Punishment and Control: The politics of criminal justice

Crime is a very central political topicYoung people commit a large proportion of crimePoliticians 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

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Age – Crime Curve

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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

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 crimeBut some people will not grow out of crime – or will commit lots of crimes before they do

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Resilience

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

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Assessment

RNR:• Risks• Needs (especially needs associated with offending)• Right approach (different people learn in different ways)

but also:

StrengthsAspirations Obstacles to desistance (including needs not directly crime-related)MotivationInterventions / resources that might be made available

Agencies working together

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

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Youth Offending Teams

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

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Youth Offending Teams Tasks and responsibilities

1. Assessment and intervention work2. Bail support and supervision3. Services for placing young people on

remand (waiting to go to court)4. Pre-sentence reports5. Supervising young people on court orders6. Work with young people in custody and

after their release

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Sentencing Guidelines Council:General approach

Offence seriousness is the starting point for sentencingSentence must be in proportion to thisWhen 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.

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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.”

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Sentencing Guidelines CouncilKey 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

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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…

Pre-Sentence Report

To help the Court to decide on the most suitable sentenceWritten by a member of the Youth Offending TeamIndividual background and circumstancesDiscussion of the offenceAssessment of risks – especially risks of further offending - and needs linked with these risksConclusion (which usually includes a discussion of the likely effects of the sentences the Court may be considering)

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Structured Assessment

OASys – ASSETTightly linked with ideas of ‘what works’ and the Risk, Needs, Responsibilities (RNR) model

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Relationship

Research shows that helping people to change needs skills of relationship and mutual trustNeed to gain and work with the individual’s consentKey professional skill for everyone who works with young people

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.

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

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 principlesYouth justice needs to be better understood

by Judiciary and Prosecutors

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.”

European Rules for juvenile offenders

Rules set out the implications of the European Human Rights Convention for the organisation, policies and practice of probation agenciesExpectation that countries will implement the Rules and promote training on themRules have implications for practitioners and managers …… and also for Judges and Prosecutors in their daily practice

Rules

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

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More Rules

Legal advice, complaints procedures and monitoring Staff, including their trainingEvaluation, research, work with the media and the public

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Diversity and Individualisation

Rules make explicit reference to the need to respect diversity and to avoid discriminationDiversity principle: the many ways in which people are different – and also alikeSanctions 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 informationPolicies 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

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.”

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

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Cooperation and active participation of offender

Rules encourage staff to try to gain the active participation and co-operation of offendersAnd involvement of the familySupervision is not just monitoring and controlAssistance, guidance, encouragement Relationships are key in motivating and supporting change

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.”

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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?

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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 integrationYouth justice services cannot work in isolation

Mutual respectUnderstandingCommunicationOrganisation

Managers and practitioners

QuestionsWhat 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?