A History of Youth Justice charts the development of juvenile justice in England and Wales from the time of its earliest distinctions from adult justice. It explores the major trends across political generations, contextualised by political pressures, personalities, events and ideologies driving change. The author also details the rise and fall of each innovation, from the prison hulks to boot camps, examining their impetus, implementation and problems. The book highlights recurring issues in the formation and implementation of interventions with young offenders. It notes the consistencies in hopes and fears from policies, and the repeated problems and mistakes. Furthermore the book relates these patterns to the most recent generation of youth justice interventions - showing how we are still repeating hopes and mistakes from the past. The author asks how much this history can tell us about `what works' in youth justice provision and what has repeatedly not worked. The book presents a typical model of policy development and uses this to predict the pitfalls in current and future developments. The conclusions challenge policymakers to learn key lessons from the past for the success of youth justice in the future.

Levels of youth custody in any period are not closely related to the nature and extent of youth crime, but appear instead to be determined, at least in part, by political, social and economic considerations. While David Garland's account of the development of a new culture of control provides a useful framework for discussing child imprisonment, Bateman argues that the empirical data does not, in any straightforward manner, support the idea of an inexorable rise in youth custody that might be anticipated as a consequence of that analysis. This book investigates the systemic determinants of youth custodial sentencing in England and Wales and provides a full account of the patterns of youth imprisonment and offers a nuanced explanation of systemic features at different times and in different places.

A History of Youth Justice charts the development of juvenile justice in England and Wales from the time of its earliest distinctions from adult justice. It explores the major trends across political generations, contextualised by political pressures, personalities, events and ideologies driving change. The author also details the rise and fall of each innovation, from the prison hulks to boot camps, examining their impetus, implementation and problems. The book highlights recurring issues in the formation and implementation of interventions with young offenders. It notes the consistencies in hopes and fears from policies, and the repeated problems and mistakes. Furthermore the book relates these patterns to the most recent generation of youth justice interventions - showing how we are still repeating hopes and mistakes from the past. The author asks how much this history can tell us about `what works' in youth justice provision and what has repeatedly not worked. The book presents a typical model of policy development and uses this to predict the pitfalls in current and future developments. The conclusions challenge policymakers to learn key lessons from the past for the success of youth justice in the future.