Pippa Goodfellow’s Post

This Alliance for Youth Justice briefing/manifesto is excellent, and should set the agenda for how the new government considers youth justice issues

This Important briefing by Alliance for Youth Justice (AYJ) sets the #youthjustice agenda for the new govt: - to safeguard & support, - end racial injustice - ensure custody is a last resort Change is needed across the whole criminal justice system to support children, including creating a distinct criminal records system for childhood offences. We especially welcome the call to seal childhood criminal records - this would make an enormous difference to the futures of children caught up in the criminal justice system.

What if the real solutions to youth crime already exist within our communities? The Queensland government just announced a $50 million commitment to find the best youth crime solutions globally—but we don’t need to look far. Community-led approaches like justice reinvestment and Indigenous-led solutions are already reducing crime and empowering young people through cultural connection and support, not punishment. 🔑 The big question: Why are governments doubling down on punitive policies that don’t work when the answers are right in front of us? 🔎 In the latest blog, I explore how community-driven solutions are the future of youth justice and how empowering local leadership is key to breaking cycles of incarceration. It’s time to shift the focus from punishment to healing. Read the full blog here and join the conversation. https://lnkd.in/gK5QsUPy

Anne Hollonds, National Children’s Commissioner, addressed the National Press Club of Australia today on the urgent need to transform Australia’s child justice system in her speech titled "Help Way Earlier!: How Australia Can Transform Child Justice and Improve Safety and Wellbeing." She highlighted the critical need to intervene earlier, advocating for trauma-informed solutions to protect children and promote their wellbeing. When countries like the US, often critiqued for their justice approach, are making more strides in protecting young people, it's clear that our youth justice system needs urgent reform. It’s time to prioritise prevention and support over punishment. #RaiseTheAge #YouthJusticeReform #ProtectOurChildren #KidsXpress

With the recent change in government, we have taken the opportunity to communicate our priorities for the youth justice system to the Labour party. Our board, under the leadership of Chair Jacqui Belfield-Smith MBE submitted our proposals aimed at a continued development of the YJS. We provided The Labour Party  with our ‘where we stand’ statements to clarify our approach to supporting young people in the justice system. We highlighted, what we believe to be the most critical issues that we would like Labour to focus on over the next four years: - Diversity and Disproportionality - prevention of offending - Diversion from the Justice System and Out-of-Court Disposals  - Children in police detention  - Child-Centred Youth Justice  - Participation and the Voice of the Child  - Governance of the Youth Justice System  - The Age of Criminal Responsibility And we also highlighted our issues of immediate concern: - Impact of Short-term funding arrangements for Youth Justice  - Focus on Education and SEND  - Serious Youth Violence reduction  - Criminal Exploitation, Modern Day Slavery & National Referral Mechanism decision- making  - The offer to victims  - Transition arrangements post-18.  - Safeguarding in the secure estate for children. #YJS #FutureForChange #Labour #NewGovernment #YouthJustice #FutureofJustice

Our friends at the Alliance for Youth Justice (AYJ) are calling on the government to reimagine youth justice.⚖ They’ve just published a new briefing, urging the government to take bold action to reform the youth justice system. Key recommendations: ✅A Department for Children, led by a Secretary of State for Children, to oversee a children’s rights strategy. ✅Rebalanced resources away from crisis intervention, policing and punitive action towards investing in communities to work together to support children before needs escalate. ✅A clear plan of action to tackle the cumulative impacts of racial discrimination before, during and after children’s contact with the justice system. ✅A comprehensive, long-term strategy for keeping children out of custody and closing failing and extremely harmful child prisons. Jess Mullen, Chief Executive of the Alliance for Youth Justice, said: “We are looking forward to collaborating with the new government to implement these much-needed reforms, and are currently seeking opportunities for members to engage with Ministers to develop and deliver an approach to youth justice that protects and nurtures all children.” 🔎Read the briefing: https://lnkd.in/e4iWbS5S

The Juvenile Justice Policy & Data Board, which the OCA chairs, released a new report on Massachusetts #juvenilejustice system today! Read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/ecjAGq8a The pretrial phase is when a youth has been officially charged with a crime, but has not yet gone to trial or resolved their case. Massachusetts has made significant strides in reducing youth detention over the past decade-plus, but the rest of pretrial process has received far less attention.     If we do better there, youth are more likely to be successful. If we don’t, youth more likely to recidivate and public safety declines.  It’s an area of the juvenile justice system that impacts a lot of kids.     It’s a basic question: Are we treating youth as youth rather than adults? Because if we do, then we are more likely to have safe communities and thriving youth.     Four of the key findings of the report include:  -There are disparities in who is detained pretrial  -Youth are being given pretrial conditions of release more often, and these conditions are not always developmentally appropriate  -The pretrial process lasts too long, causing harm to youth  -Restrictive options (like home confinement) are overused    So what can be done?   1st: Improve how conditions of release are set and revisited to ensure they are fair, effective, and aligned with youth development.     2nd: Increase “intermediate” pretrial supervision and service options. Some youth would benefit from more intensive services and supports to help them be successful during the pretrial phase - instead of sending them to detention because they had difficulty adhering to their release conditions.    3rd: Divert more youth: Continue to expand diversion programs and options to treat youth as youth and help them access necessary services sooner while reducing court involvement.    For more details, read the full report. 

Today's very good SMH article and editorial highlight the shocking increases in rates of Aboriginal children and adults in detention, especially in remand, in NSW https://lnkd.in/gjV3vcXj. The police are rightly in the spotlight because the evidence is clear that they over-police Aboriginal people and communities and oppose bail for Aboriginal people at much higher rates than for non-Aboriginal people. But the solution is not just addressing police relations with Aboriginal people. It is much deeper and wider than that. The evidence based social determinants of justice provides a framework for understanding the causes of these gross over-representations and lays out holistic preventive approaches.

🌟 Plenary Session Highlight: "Not My Crime, Still My Sentence: Ensuring a Child Rights-Based Approach When a Parent Goes to Prison''! 🔍Speaker: Professor Nancy Loucks PhD OBE, Chair, International Coalition for Children with Incarcerated Parents, United Kingdom 🔍 Session Overview: Research shows that maintaining positive family ties during imprisonment can reduce reoffending rates, but the reasons and evidence behind this need to be better understood. The ASPIRE project, led by Prof. Loucks, has explored the potential of extending the School Zone model to support children and families across Wales. This session will provide an overview of this research, discussing the benefits of family support in prison settings, as well as examining these benefits through the lens of child protection and children's human rights. Prof. Loucks will argue for the critical need to support families and children as more than just tools for resettlement. 🔍 About Prof. Nancy Loucks: Nancy is the powerhouse behind Families Outside, a Scottish voluntary organization dedicated to supporting families affected by imprisonment. With an MPhil and PhD from the Institute of Criminology at the University of Cambridge, Prof. Loucks has an extensive background in criminology and public service. Awarded for her services to Education and Human Rights, she’s a key figure in several high-impact reviews and boards, including the International Coalition for Children of Incarcerated Parents (INCCIP) and Children of Prisoners Europe (COPE). Join us at the ICPA Annual Conference 2024 and don't miss this eye-opening session! Register now at icpa.org! #ICPA2024 #CriminalJustice #FamilySupport #ChildRights #EnablingDesistance

The evidence is clear: more children behind bars does not equate to safer communities. Victoria made a commitment to raise the age to 14 years old by 2027 and we urge the government to honour this promise. In response to today's announcement that the Victorian Government is dropping its plans to #RaiseTheAge, 54 reasons' Victoria Director, Gai Campbell says: “The Allan Government must not abandon the 12- and 13-year-olds who are in contact with the youth justice system, who often are themselves victims of crime and survivors of maltreatment including domestic and family violence.   By raising the age of criminal responsibility to 14, which is in line with legal, medical and human rights best practice, it allows rehabilitation to be prioritised over punitive punishment and gives young people the chance to break the cycle of re-offending.     If the government is serious about addressing youth crime in Victoria, the state needs to stop turning to incarceration as the answer and instead build on the positive directions set by the Youth Justice Bill to invest more in early intervention and prevention services that address the root causes of offending among children.” Read more about our vision for a rights-respecting #youthjustice system in our report Putting Children First: https://lnkd.in/gqaSBRPx