Children in conflict with the law: an overview of trends and developments - 2010/2011

The youth justice system is an ever changing landscape. Shifts in legislation, policy and practice generate corresponding transformations in the treatment of children who come to the attention of criminal justice agencies. Substantial variation in responses to youth crime owes little to changes in children’s offending behaviour or to a growing awareness of ‘what works’ (itself a contested issue) 1 but is largely a function of political and financial considerations. The National Association for Youth Justice (NAYJ) believes that an understanding of these changes provides an important contextual base for those who wish to argue for reform of the current arrangements for dealing with children in trouble in favour of a child friendly youth justice system. Such an understanding is also a prerequisite of providing child friendly services within that system.