Law and Rights
According to a report in The Independent (17th March), publication of data for the year 2008-9 relating to "disposals" of criminal offences committed by children (ages 10 to under 14) and young persons (14 to under 18) is being delayed due to the impending general election. The data normally appears in March. It seems that there is now a "purdah period" during which information of a sensitive political nature may not be released. The term "disposal" includes all methods of finalising an offence. Methods range from police reprimands to various forms of custodial sentence. It also appears that publication of a report relating to "governance" of the Youth Justice Board (YJB) is being delayed.
Data for "disposals" of youth justice cases up to year 2007-8 can be readily obtained from the YJB website. In the year 2005-6 there were 212242 disposals; in 2006-7 the figure was 216011 and for 2007-8 it was 210670. Obviously, over this 3 year period, the data shows a fairly stable position with neither a sharp decline nor increase in youth offending. Has the government something to hide about 2008-9? Applying a "purdah" to this data cannot make for a healthy democracy in which informed debate about matters of concern can take place.
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Law and Rights
Youth Justice: Information delayed?
Data for "disposals" of youth justice cases up to year 2007-8 can be readily obtained from the YJB website. In the year 2005-6 there were 212242 disposals; in 2006-7 the figure was 216011 and for 2007-8 it was 210670. Obviously, over this 3 year period, the data shows a fairly stable position with neither a sharp decline nor increase in youth offending. Has the government something to hide about 2008-9? Applying a "purdah" to this data cannot make for a healthy democracy in which informed debate about matters of concern can take place.
- Youth Justice - Venue For Trial
In England and Wales, criminal trials of children (aged 10 to 13) and young offenders (14 to 17 inclusive) normally take place in a Youth Court. Such courts are a specialist subset of magistrates' courts and the judiciary will be either Justices...
- Legal Aid ~ Westminster Hall Debate ~ Inefficiency And Waste
Chris Grayling MPTransforming legal aid: Price Competitive Tendering (or PCT) was a central plank in the government's Transforming Legal Aid proposals. I say 'was' because it looks as though it has been dropped by the Secretary of State...
- Explaining Our Law And Legal System ... No.7 ... Youth Justice ... Part 2 (modern System)
Updated 30th August The key features of the youth justice system: For youth justice purposes, a child is aged 10 to 13 and a young person is aged 14 to 17. Persons under age 10 cannot, in law, be guilty of a criminal offence though local authorities...
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Previous posts in this series: No.1 - Legal Personnel No.2 - Courts of Law and Tribunals No.3 - The Judges No.4 - Juries No.5 - Magistrates No.6 ? Sources of Law For the purposes of youth justice, a "child" is under age 14. A "young person" is...
- Should We Raise The Age Of Criminal Responsibility?
Most countries have recognised a need to have an age of criminal responsibility. Those under the age may not be convicted of an offence. English common law set the age at 8 but it was raised to 10 by the Children and Young Persons Act 1933...