ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the responses to crime committed by those aged 10-21. Specifi cally, the chapter:
• charts the historical development of a specifi c system to deal with juvenile offending in England and Wales;
• considers changes made to the youth justice system between 1969 and 1997;
• analyses the rationale and content of changes introduced by Labour governments since 1997 to the operations of the youth justice system;
• analyses the strengths and weaknesses of reforms introduced to the youth justice system since 1997;
• considers the effectiveness of attempts made by post-1997 Labour governments to address the social causes of crime, an approach which has been especially directed at infl uencing the behaviour of young people;
• evaluates the reforms to combat youth offending put forward by the 2010 Coalition government.
