AYJ Communications Officer Millie Hall visits AYJ Associate Member Luke Billingham to find out more about his wide-reaching work within the youth justice sector. Read for a whistle-stop tour of some of Luke’s key interests including tackling serious violence, the significance of sport cages, and also his motivations.

Comment from AYJ Director Pippa Goodfellow following the announcement that Ofsted, HM Inspectorate of Prisons, and the Care Quality Commission has triggered the Urgent Notification process for Oakhill Secure Training Centre.

Ahead of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill House of Lords Committee Stage, beginning 20th October 2021, the AYJ hosted a briefing meeting for Peers in the House of Lords, AYJ members and others in the youth justice sector, examining the impacts of the Bill on children in or at risk of involvement in the youth justice system.

Find out what we've been up to in the month of September!

To celebrate the end of the first year of the project, the AYJ and Leaders Unlocked held a showcase to present the amazing work of the Young Advocates.

The Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) has published its report on the sentencing and remand of children and young people as part of its legislative scrutiny of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts (PCSC) Bill.

On Wednesday 26th September, the Alliance for Youth Justice and Leaders Unlocked held a showcase to celebrate the end of the first year of the Young Advocates project.

AYJ Director, Pippa Goodfellow, attended a briefing event for Members of the House of Lords to examine the potential impact of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts (PCSC) Bill on racial inequality in the criminal justice system.

Our new briefing, ‘I wanted to be heard’, with Agenda, the alliance for women and girls at risk, looks into experiences of violence, abuse and exploitation of girls and young women in contact with the criminal justice system, which are too often overlooked. It makes recommendations for change in policy and practice across the youth and adult criminal justice system.  

Our extensive second reading briefing, examines the impacts of the Bill, identifying where new measures should be added to address missed opportunities; where provisions stand to reverse recent progress in youth justice and must be removed; and where existing proposals should be amended to maximise their positive potential or address unintended negative consequences.

Find out what we've been up to in the month of August!

Find out what we've been up to in the month of July!

Commenting on the Government’s ‘Beating Crime Plan’, the AYJ raises concerns that it does not go far enough to tackle the root causes of offending, provide adequate support children and young people, and address the devastating impacts of COVID-19.

The exceptional impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the youth justice system are documented in a new report published today. The comprehensive report finds that COVID-19 has devastatingly exacerbated the issues faced by children affected by the youth justice system.

AYJ members share their reflections in a series of blogs, as part of The Youth Justice System’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic research project. We invited our members and the wider youth justice sector to share their experiences of the pandemic and how this impacted their work.

Recently, our Young Advocates were joined by a very special guest at their meeting - Criminologist, Urban Youth specialist, and community scholar, Craig Pinkney.

In March, the AYJ and a coalition of organisations wrote an open letter to the Prime Minister, warning that the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill will deepen existing racial inequality in the criminal justice system. Alex Chalk MP has responded on behalf of the government.

Find out what we've been up to in the month of June!

The AYJ and our members joined with the Education Select Committee to inform the next stages of their inquiry into Prison Education and an opportunity for members to help shape the priorities of the committee’s inquiry relating to children and young people.

AYJ have provided both written and oral evidence to the Joint Committee on Human Rights’ legislative scrutiny of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill regarding youth justice.