ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the translation of changing ideas about childhood into the specific context of the emergence of modern policing and the changing shape of practice in relation to young people's offending. Changing views of children and young people, the influence of social reformers and adaptation by the justice system to what was seen as the excessive criminalisation of young people, led to a modification in perspectives on juvenile crime. The Molony Committee reflected a number of perennial faultlines in debates about the extent and legitimacy of diversion in youth justice. By 1949, Liverpool had established a Juvenile Liaison Officer (JLO) initiative, whose purpose was to act as an effective alternative to prosecution and court appearances. The Ingleby Committee took a leisurely four years to complete its work, and included in its deliberations was a discussion of police cautioning and juvenile liaison schemes.
