18 - Protecting the rights of young offenders

Summary

Introduction

Children who become involved in crime do not thereby lose their right to be treated as children. Indeed, as the Ingleby Committee so wisely observed, although they are ‘often an appalling nuisance’, young offenders are of less immediate danger to society than adult law-breakers, they are less responsible for their actions, and are more amenable to training and education. The law should undoubtedly protect children from the full rigours of the criminal justice system until they are old enough to take full personal responsibility for their actions. These concepts might appear to be truisms; clearly they inspired many of the provisions of the Children Act (CA) 1908. Nevertheless, English law has increasingly become the focus of international criticism for its harsh treatment of young offenders. Since the early 1990s, successive governments have responded to a fear of juvenile lawlessness with increasingly tough measures designed to crack down on youth crime. The various legislative measures introduced by the New Labour government since it came to power in 1997 reflect this approach. Indeed, the government of England and Wales is currently infringing a variety of international instruments designed to safeguard the rights of children who offend, including their right to a form of trial adjusted to their juvenile status and to humane treatment once convicted. This area of law is far too extensive to allow an overall assessment. Instead, those aspects of the youth justice system which are currently the subject of the most stringent criticism are discussed below.