Needs or deeds? youth justice in Finland and England and Wales

Today a host of special commissions, governmental working groups, policy ‘think tanks’ and penal pressure groups are re-thinking youth justice. This is partly because the reformed system introduced by NewLabourin1998appears to have had little impact upon re-offending rates, but largely because it has proved to be extremely expensive. The emerging consensus appears to be that we are locking up too many children and young people; that we are locking them up in the wrongplaces andthat, whenwelockthemup,we are far too concerned with their deeds and uninterested in their needs.