ABSTRACT
The relative influences of the criminal justice, welfare and community approaches on procedure and action in juvenile courts and hearings is determined by the way in which decision makers, social workers, lawyers and police use their discretion. Everyone in the juvenile justice system has constantly to balance within themselves the demands of criminal justice, welfare and community approaches, but this does not preclude the need for clarity about the primary responsibility carried by various actors. The Office of Prosecution should include adequate numbers of trained social workers, and para-professionals in law and social work. In Britain neither lawyers nor law students have moved into juvenile courts or hearings and there is little evidence of any anxiety about the quality of prosecution or of defence in juvenile justice. The impact of lawyers in the juvenile justice system would extend beyond the case in which they influence the attitudes of decision makers, police and social workers to their own use of discretion.
