Human Rights and Youth Justice Reform in England and Wales: A Systemic Analysis (1991-2016)

Criminology and Criminal Justice, DOI: 10.1177/1748895817721957, Published online

37 Pages Posted: 3 Jan 2018

See all articles by Chris Cunneen

Chris Cunneen

Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research,University of Technology Sydney; James Cook University - Cairns Campus

Barry Goldson

University of Liverpool - Department of Sociology, Social Policy and Criminology

Sophie Russell

University of New South Wales (UNSW) - School of Social Sciences

Date Written: August 16, 2017

Abstract

This article examines critically the persistently antagonistic relationship - across the past quarter century - between the provisions of international human rights instruments and the nature and direction of youth justice reform in England and Wales. It introduces the core provisions of the human rights framework that pertain to youth justice and it sketches the nature and direction of policy reform over the 25-year period under scrutiny (1991-2016). To obtain a comprehensive sense of the relationship between human rights and youth justice reform in the jurisdiction, it applies a detailed systemic analysis; beginning at the point at which criminal responsibility is formally imputed and progressing through each stage of the youth justice system, up to the point where the child might ultimately be deprived of her/his liberty. By taking a ‘long-view’ of youth justice reform and by adopting a systemic end-to-end analysis of the human rights-youth justice interface, the article presents an analytical account of both change (policy reforms) and continuity (the enduring nature of human rights violations).

Keywords: Children, human rights, policy reform, punitiveness, youth justice

Suggested Citation

Cunneen, Chris and Goldson, Barry and Russell, Sophie, Human Rights and Youth Justice Reform in England and Wales: A Systemic Analysis (1991-2016) (August 16, 2017). Criminology and Criminal Justice, DOI: 10.1177/1748895817721957, Published online, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3093715

Chris Cunneen (Contact Author)

Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research,University of Technology Sydney ( email )

15 Broadway, Ultimo
PO Box 123
Sydney, NSW 2007
Australia

James Cook University - Cairns Campus ( email )

PO Box 6811
Cairns, Queensland 4870
Australia

Barry Goldson

University of Liverpool - Department of Sociology, Social Policy and Criminology ( email )

Bedford Street South
Liverpool, L69 7ZA
United Kingdom
+44 (0) 151 794 2977 (Phone)
+44 (0) 151 794 2997 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.liv.ac.uk/sspsw/staff/biogs/goldson.htm

Sophie Russell

University of New South Wales (UNSW) - School of Social Sciences ( email )

Sydney, NSW 2052
Australia

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