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.  

‘I wanted to be heard’ focuses on girls and young women in contact with the criminal justice system and their experiences of violence, abuse, and exploitation. In particular, it highlights the experiences of Black and minoritised young women, and young women with experience of the care 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!

AYJ Director, Pippa Goodfellow, writes to update our members, partners and colleagues mid-way through the year, reflecting on our work together so far in 2021 and looking ahead to plans in the coming months.

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.

This literature review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the existing policy, practice and research literature about the impacts of COVID-19 on the youth justice system. The review considers the impacts of the pandemic across each stage of the youth justice system, bringing together findings from community-based responses, the courts, and the secure estate.

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.

AYJ speaks to Youth Justice Consultant, Michael O’Connor, on how Covid-19 has impacted his work in youth justice and how he has adapted to this unprecedented year.

AYJ member Khulisa, a national charity that provides wellbeing support to vulnerable young people in schools and prisons, talks us through how Covid-19 has impacted their work in youth justice and how they have adapted to this unprecedented year.

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!

Caroline Liggins, Criminal Defence Solicitor and Chair of the Youth Practitioners’ Association, reflects upon developments since her AYJ blog post, published back in July 2020, on the impact of COVID-19 on children in the youth justice system.

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.