Youth Justice

Separate systems of justice for children and young people have always been beset by issues of contradiction and compromise. There is compelling evidence that such ambiguity is currently being `resolved' by a greater governmental resort to neo-conservative punitive and correctional interventions and a neo-liberal responsibilizing mentality in which the protection historically afforded to children is rapidly dissolving. This resurgent authoritarianism appears all the more anachronistic when it is set against the widely held commitment to act within the guidelines established by various children's rights conventions. Of note is the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, frequently described as the most ratified human rights convention in the world, but lamentably also the most violated. Based on international research on juvenile custody rates and children's rights compliance in the USA and Western Europe, this article examines why and to what extent `American exceptionalism' might be permeating European nation states.

This article considers the Mosquito , a sonic repellent that is increasingly being used in a bid to drive teenagers out of public spaces. Having located this technology in its social and political context, the legal ramifications of its deployment are considered. Does the Mosquito satisfy health and safety requirements? Does it contravene environmental regulations? Is utilization of this device antisocial? Does its deployment constitute a form of criminal harassment? Finally, does the Mosquito unjustifiably interfere with human rights? Responses to the questions are offered, along with potential remedies for redress.

The association between local authority care and offending behaviour was examined in 250 looked after young people of the age of criminal responsibility. Whilst a greater number of the young people had committed offences than in the general population, the vast majority were law abiding. For those who did offend, the care episode itself was unlikely to have been the sole cause of their delinquency. The findings suggest that the services offered once the young people entered local authority care did not succeed in combating established offending behaviour. Perhaps initiatives targeted in the community prior to entry to care may be more effective.

This article provides a critique of social profiling in relation to ethnically identified youth gangs by considering the fluid nature of social identity and the ambiguities of gang formation. It begins by outlining the nature of youth group affiliation and association, and the multilayered ways in which social identity is constructed. This is followed by a brief review of key propositions relating to youth gangs, derived from international gang research over the last decade. The final section of the paper presents two models of social profiling, one of which is based upon actual criminal events, the other on prediction of `risk'. It is argued that anti-gang intervention based upon a type of social profiling that net-widens will most likely compound the very problem it is intended to address.