ABSTRACT
Having attended voluntary agency conferences in the UK on Youth Crime for a number of years, presenting workshops on a variety of issue, but predominantly about the sexual misbehaviour of young people, I have begun to introduce elements of Solution-Focused and Narrative work in this field. The opportunities afforded by having perhaps a maximum of one and a half hours to introduce any topic are limited, but certainly hone the mind in thinking about the most effective methods to impart key points that are understandable, stimulate interest in further study, and are rooted in practice. The participants in the workshops are from a wide variety of backgrounds, disciplines, and experiences. However, they are all involved in work with children and young people who are in the criminal justice system at some point. This allows for some commonalities of experience and a presumption that they may actually want the best for the young people with whom they work. In the UK, the age of criminal responsibility (at which a child can be held fully responsible in law for criminal behaviour) is 10, and the Youth Justice system manages young people from this age to 17 with a range of community-based, state-funded provisions available. Children within this age range may also be imprisoned. The overwhelming majority of participants are not familiar with Solution-Focused or Narrative approaches.
