The Youth Justice System’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

The ‘Impact of COVID-19 on Youth Justice’ research project is delivered in collaboration between the Alliance for Youth Justice (AYJ) and Manchester Centre for Youth Studies (MCYS) at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU), a research centre underpinned by the ethos of creating youth informed and youth led research and policy 

The project aims to understand and document the unprecedented implications that COVID-19 has had on the youth justice system and the vulnerable children it works with. Although the pandemic will have a societal effect on all young people, a disproportionate number of children in the youth justice system have complex needs, are from minority ethnic backgrounds, have been excluded from school and have been exposed to adverse childhood experiences, and so it is expected the impacts of COVID-19 are likely to be worse for this group.  

Research will explore the impact of COVID-19 on service provision, education, training, employment and wellbeing, how professionals have had to adapt to remote working, the impact of the delay of criminal trials and the safety of children in custodial settings. 

By pooling the expertise of AYJ’s network of members and sector partners across England and Wales, the project aims to develop insight and recommendations for policy and practice. The research will involve interviews and surveys of statutory partners, including the Youth Justice Board and Ministry of Justice, third sector organisations, senior national policy and decision-makers, and children with lived experiences. 

Funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) as part of the UK Research and Innovation’s rapid response to COVID-19, findings and recommendations from the 18-month project will be shared widely with practitioners and decision-makers to shape policy and practice.