AYJ Monthly Newsletter: October 2022
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Members’ Meeting
This month the AYJ hosted its quarterly Members’ Meeting, which featured a panel discussion on the harms posed to children by stop and search, with an emphasis on strip searching. Panellists were Yolanda Lear, Project Officer at Hackney Account; Dr Ian Joseph, Research Associate at the Open University; and Chris Bath, National Appropriate Adult Network. Watch the panel discussion here.
MEETING: Commission on Young Lives
The Commission on Young Lives, chaired by previous Children's Commissioner for England Anne Longfield, is publishing its final report in early November. This month the AYJ co-hosted a meeting with the Commission, in which Anne Longfield consulted AYJ members on draft recommendations regarding youth justice system reform.
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ARTICLE: A critical juncture for youth justice – Millie Harris for CYPNow
The AYJ’s Policy Manager Millie Harris contributed a comment piece to CYPNow’s special report on ‘Youth Offending’. Millie discussed key findings from the AYJ’s project on the Impact of COVID-19 on Youth Justice, and highlighted how the youth justice system is at a crossroads, calling for the momentous opportunity to reimagine justice for children to be seized. Other contributing writers were Hannah Smithson, Professor of Youth Justice at Manchester Metropolitan University, Keith Fraser, Chair of the Youth Justice Board, and Steve Crocker, President of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services.
BLOG: Black History Month – Mia Edwards
As Black History Month drew to a close, the AYJ’s Policy and Communications Officer Mia Edwards reflected on the historic roots and present-day manifestations of racial disparity in the youth justice system. Read the blog here.