Introducing the ‘Young People in Transition in the Criminal Justice System’ project

A three-year project examining the experiences of children and young people turning 18 while in contact with the justice system, exploring issues spanning youth and adult systems.

As children grow up, turn 18 and become young adults, the shift in responsibilities, expectations and support can be unsettling for many. For children who turn 18 while in contact with the criminal justice system, the transition into young adulthood is particularly disruptive and destabilising. 

A lack of continuity and drop off in support experienced by many young people during this time can leave them at risk of harm, hamper progress, and contribute to their continued involvement in criminal justice. This cliff edge at 18 was highlighted for girls in our Young Women’s Justice Project policy briefing, Falling Through the Gaps. 

Now, the AYJ has been funded by Barrow Cadbury Trust to further explore transitions for all children and young people, in a new project: Young People in Transition in the Criminal Justice System. 

The transition from being viewed and treated as a child to an adult begins before 18 for many, and on turning 18 and legally becoming an ‘adult’, perceptions of culpability harden significantly and focusses on welfare fall further away. Once a young person transitions into adult systems, provision too often fails to be distinct and sensitive to the needs of young adults, despite clear evidence of vulnerability, including due to immaturity. 

Getting the transition from child to young adulthood right for young people in contact with the justice system is critical, and special attention needs to be paid to certain groups of children and young adults. Young people in custody face particular challenges as they navigate transition within a custodial system that fails to keep them safe and meet their needs. Racially minoritised young people face cumulative discrimination that impacts their experiences of transition and the support and services surrounding them. Young people at particular risk of harm, including those in care and those affected by exploitation, are put at greater risk as the transition to adulthood impacts the safeguarding response they are in need of. 

With these three thematic focuses on custody, racial disparity, and safeguarding, the project is seeking to identify first, policy and practice changes needed to improve the experiences and outcomes for older children approaching transition into adulthood. Second, where adult systems are failing the young people who transition into them, where the application of policy, practice and principles inherent in youth justice could help young people access the support they need and move away from crime.  

The project’s Advisory Group had its first meeting in November, and an evidence summary highlighting existing research evidence and data, and setting out the policy context for transitions, is well underway, to be published in early 2023. We look forward to working with our members, wider stakeholders, and children and young people throughout this project to develop research and evidence; harness practitioner expertise; centre youth voice; and influence positive change for young people in transition in the criminal justice system.  

Read more about the project here.