Frightening Figures

Over a million crimes

committed by
10 17 year olds
2009/10 (most recent Home Office figures)

They say

The law is too soft on

Demonising Teens

People want answers

People want answers

People want to feel safe
People want justice

Your Challenge
Justice must be seen to be done
Justice must be effective
Justice must be just
The public want prison but is this
effective justice?

Yes, we need prison

but for every criminal?
For every crime?

Is Prison Working?

Is Prison Working?

73% of young offenders

reoffend within a year of
leaving custody

Is Prison Cost-effective?

Is Prison Cost-effective?

Total UK cost of youth

imprisonment totals 4 billion
annually.

Prison = 42,493 pa per child

Eton = 32,067 pa per child

So
Crime rates are high
Reoffending rates are high
Costs are high
Is prison the answer?

Is Prison The Answer For Him?

Villain or Victim?

Villain or Victim?
50% have experienced time in care

Villain or Victim?
50% have experienced time in care
31% have a recognised mental health disorder

Villain or Victim?
50% have experienced time in care
31% have a recognised mental health disorder
19% suffer from depression

Villain or Victim?
50% have experienced time in care
31% have a recognised mental health disorder
19% suffer from depression
25% have a statement of Special Educational Needs

Villain or Victim?
50% have experienced time in care
31% have a recognised mental health disorder
19% suffer from depression
25% have a statement of Special Educational Needs
88% have been excluded from school

Prison Education?

Jason, 15

I got used to itlearned how to weigh up drugs and

sell them, how to make a profit on them, I learned
car theft. Ive learned how to fight in jail.

Prison Education?

Jason, 15

I got used to itlearned how to weigh up drugs and

sell them, how to make a profit on them, I learned
car theft. Ive learned how to fight in jail.
Armed with these skills, around three in four
children will reoffend within a year of release.

Prison Care?

Ahmed, 16

Everything is a blur. Honestly, I do think that I wont

be able to cope if I dwell on my future. It drains you.
It stresses you. I dont like to talk about it.

Prison Care?

Ahmed, 16

Everything is a blur. Honestly, I do think that I wont

be able to cope if I dwell on my future. It drains you.
It stresses you. I dont like to talk about it.
Prison is a place of fear and paranoia
Junior Smart (SOS Project)

Remember hes still a child

Rational or Reckless?
Adolescents are capable of rational decisions HOWEVER
The pre-frontal cortex of adolescent brains is
immature, so putting on the brakes in emotionally
charged situations loses out to pumping on the
accelerator.
Rayna and Farley 2006 cited in Casey et al (2011)

What Does Prison

Achieve?
Rehabilitation
or Resistance
It removes power
It demands acquiescence
It diminishes peer group status

What Does Prison

Achieve?
Rehabilitation
or Resistance
It removes power
It demands acquiescence
It diminishes peer group status
The result - sullen obeisance

A Good Result?

A Good Result?

Sullen obeisance becomes

heroic resistance

There must be something better

We all want a solution that works

We all want a solution that works

We all want youth with a future

We all want a solution that works

We all want youth with a future
Each one of us wants justice for all

Is Restorative Justice an
Answer?

Restorative Justice
A first line of defence against crime
The most cost-effective defence
against crime
Ensures the individual victim is
not alone and not forgotten

Recent studies have shown

that the three stages of
Restorative Justice provide
an unrivalled opportunity for
growth and rehabilitation to
both perpetrator and victim

Reconciliation
Victim and offender meet for mutual condemnation of
the criminal act and the preservation of human dignity

Reconciliation
Victim and offender meet for mutual condemnation of
the criminal act and the preservation of human dignity

Reparation
Offender takes responsibility for his crime through mutual
agreement of penance

Reconciliation
Victim and offender meet for mutual condemnation of
the criminal act and the preservation of human dignity

Reparation
Offender takes responsibility for his crime through mutual
agreement of penance

Transformation
Individuals and communities concerned experience liberation
from the conditions that perpetuate the cycle of violence
and aggression
Lawson and Katz (2004 p. 177-178)

Henrys Story

It was terrifying doing it, going in to face the

music - actually facing her.
She was the one I stole from. It went right to my
guts. I knew then that this just wasnt me - I had
to change.

Vals Story

For us, Restorative Justice didnt take the pain

away nor was it a quick fix, but just hearing the
words Im sorry was a start to moving forward.
For us it was a life changing event. You have to
choose to forgive and you have to choose to
move on.

Public Opinion Poll

After the August 2011 riots the Public said:
Give victims a chance to confront offenders
Give victims a say in how offenders can make amends
Let offenders know the harm they have caused

ICM poll published by The Prison Reform Trust

Effective Justice?

Effective Justice?
High quality Restorative Justice
reduces offending by 27%

For every 1 spent on providing

Restorative Justice, 9 are
saved in reduced crime for the
Criminal Justice system

Restorative Justice isnt

the complete answer, but
its a proven means of
helping both victims and
perpetrators of crime

There can be no keener revelation of a societys soul

than the way in which it treats its children.
Nelson Mandela