NCJ Number
165980
Date Published
1994
Length
258 pages
Annotation
This volume surveys the jurisdiction, powers, procedures, and practices of the youth court established by the Criminal Justice Act 1991 in England and Wales to handle youth through age 17 who are charged with criminal offenses.
Abstract
The text also discusses changes made by the Criminal Justice Act 1993 and the proposals contained in the Criminal Justice and Public Order Bill of 1994. The discussion notes that the 1991 law made far-reaching changes in sentencing by establishing the just deserts approach and applying a common framework to adults and young offenders. It renamed the juvenile court as the youth court and extended its jurisdiction from youth ages 10-16 to those ages 10-17 years. Individual sections explain juvenile justice policies over the last 15 years; describe sentencing practices and pre-sentence reports; discuss parental responsibility; and examine detention, bail, interagency cooperation, and emerging issues. The text notes that the changes make diversion from formal case processing less likely and will remove more youth from their local communities. However, the risks experienced by juvenile offenders can be reduced by good practice across all the juvenile justice agencies; practitioners need to be vigilant. Index and excerpts from laws, regulations, and Home Office memoranda