ABSTRACT
There has been a good deal of academic commentary on the youth justice policies of the New Labour government, and nearly all of it has been highly critical, notably of the policies that have been introduced in England and Wales. In this chapter I will describe the main lines of criticism and assess how far they are justified. I then compare youth justice policies south of the border with those in Scotland, and discuss the extent and import of the differences. I will argue that both north and south of the border policies are often contradictory and incoherent, and that some positive initiatives in support for families, for example, and in trying to improve the experiences of looked after children, are liable to be undermined by youth justice policies-and their accompanying rhetoricthat are overwhelmingly punitive and stigmatising, and are apparently based on the assumption that children in need and young offenders are two quite distinct categories. Finally, I explore alternative approaches to youthful offending that may have the potential to be more effective in the short term and less damaging to young people’s lifelong prospects.
