AYJ Director’s Update
AYJ Director, Pippa Goodfellow, writes to update our members, partners and colleagues mid-way through the year, reflecting on our work together so far in 2021 and looking ahead to plans in the coming months.
Relaunching as the Alliance for Youth Justice
This week marks the first six months of the Alliance for Youth Justice (AYJ), following our relaunch in February 2021. Thank you so much to everyone involved in supporting us through this exciting and important new phase in the organisation’s history. To find out more about the story behind our relaunch in my blog post here. We hope you have enjoyed exploring our new website and finding out more about the AYJ. The next phase of this work will be developing a new strategy to commence in 2022, in collaboration with our members, partners and young people, in the coming months.
In March we celebrated our relaunch with an online event, where we asked: How could we reimagine ‘justice’ for children? With the help of our expert panel, we explored 'justice' through four key social justice principles of children’s rights, access, equity, and participation. We were also joined by the AYJ Young Advocates, to offer their insight on 'justice', share their perspectives and discuss ideas with the other panellists. We’d like to extend a huge thank you to all who attended the event and to those who left feedback. Highlights from the event are available to watch here.
In February we also launched our new AYJ YouTube channel and produced our first video ‘in conversation with...’ Craig Pinkney, Founding Director of SOLVE: The Centre for Youth Violence and Conflict - watch the interview here.
Influencing national policy
Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill
A significant focus of our policy work this year has been coordinating AYJ’s response to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts (PCSC) Bill. While there are some elements of the Bill which the AYJ welcomes, we are particularly concerned that measures risk increasing the use of custody for children, exacerbate existing disparities and injustices, and fail to treat children as children. Read our latest briefing here. I was invited to give oral evidence to the Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) on the child rights implications of the PCSC Bill. Watch the full evidence session here and read our written evidence to the JCHR here. AYJ has also published a series of guides to sections of the Bill which impact children in contact with the justice system, AYJ EXPLAINS: The PCSC Bill’. Take a look at the guides here.
The AYJ and a coalition of criminal justice organisations, have been raising awareness about the potential of the Bill to exacerbate racial inequalities in the criminal justice system, calling for change under the #EndCJSinequality campaign. The coalition launched an explainer video setting out how the Bill will deepen inequality, which you can watch here. We also urge you to sign and share our joint petition here. In March, the coalition wrote to the Prime Minister warning that clauses in the Bill will deepen existing disparities, calling for these clauses to be removed. We have now received the government's response to our letter. The coalition has published a statement in response to the government's letter, highlighting that the Bill is being rushed through Parliament, with a lack of meaningful consultation, and a failure to make amendments to the Bill to address concerns.
Racial disparity in youth justice
AYJ and our members made a significant contribution to the Working Party on Racial Disparity in Youth Justice convened by JUSTICE. Earlier this year, it published a final report on tackling racial injustice for children in the youth justice system, which includes 45 recommendations. AYJ will push for implementation of the recommendations, including through involvement in the Youth Justice Board’s work to develop a protocol for addressing racial disparity.
AYJ recommended and secured explicit commitment to 'promoting anti-discriminatory practice' in the YJB’s Workforce Development Strategy 2021-2023. We were encouraged that the YJB has taken on this feedback and look forward to informing this work as it progresses. Read the full strategy here.
AYJ has commented on the report of the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities here, highlighting the lack of focus on racial discrimination in the youth justice system as a glaring omission. Along with many of our members, we also signed an open letter to the Prime Minister, coordinated by Runnymede Trust, calling for the Prime Minister to reject and withdraw the report.
Rainsbrook Secure Training Centre
Following news of the Urgent Notification at Rainsbrook Secure Training Centre (STC), the AYJ has been working with our members and partners, as well as corresponding with the Youth Custody Service (YCS) to seek assurances about the impact on children, as well as the longer-term implications for the Youth Secure Estate. The Lord Chancellor has now published his response to the Urgent Notification and YCS has confirmed that all children have now been transferred out of the site. An updated placements policy will go out for consultation later in the year and AYJ will be coordinating a response.
Strengthening engagement with our members
In 2021, we have been delighted to welcome a number of new organisational members, including: Listen Up, Oasis Charitable Trust, SHiFT, The Zahid Mubarek Trust, Why me? and associate members Kate Bulman and Ellena Cooke. Most recently, we welcomed three new Associate Members Bianca Saunders, Kenya Lamb and Molly Coupe, who have all been involved with the AYJ for the past nine months in a youth advisory capacity, and we are delighted to welcome them as members to play an active role in our network and policy work.
We have been able to welcome more members than ever to AYJ meetings and we continue to convene issue-specific meetings with key decision-makers, where members share valuable discussions and debates. Some highlights include:
AYJ members briefed the Education Select Committee on their Prison Education Inquiry: Members met with MP’s to discuss current education arrangements for children in custody, as well as broader issues around education including the 'school to prison pipeline', the links with school exclusions, and the quality of alternative provision. A summary can be found here.
AYJ members inform IMPRESS Press regulation code review: We held a consultation meeting with press regulator IMPRESS as part of the review of their Standards Code and Guidance. Members shared what best practice for media should look like and shared experiences of children’s interactions with and portrayals in the media. A summary can be found here.
AYJ Members’ Meetings: In January we hosted a panel discussion ‘Children’s rights in youth justice – challenges and opportunities in 2021’ with Professor Barry Goldson, (University of Liverpool), Emily Frith (Office of the Children’s Commissioner for England) and Ben Byrne (Association of London Directors of Children’s Services). In April we were joined by Dr Louise Falshaw, Director of Strategy and Research at HMI Probation, and in July we heard from Angus Jones, Lead for children and young people at HM Inspectorate of Prisons - both provided an update on inspection findings during the pandemic and plans for plans for future work.
Young Advocates Project
Last year we launched the Young Advocates project, generously funded by Children in Need and delivered in partnership with Leaders Unlocked. We are so proud of the progress and achievements of the Young Advocates this year. Through their peer research activities, the Young Advocates have reached over 120 young people through interviews, workshops, focus groups and questionnaires. They have facilitated a number of face-to-face peer research sessions, including the opportunity to team up with other young people from Juvenis, Milk Honey Bees and Roca Juniors FC – a video of the day can be viewed here.
The end of year 1 ‘showcase’ event is planned for Wednesday 15th September, where the Young Advocates will present findings and recommendations to a range of stakeholders.
Young Women’s Justice Project
We are now 18-months into the two-year Young Women’s Justice Project, delivered in partnership with Agenda and funded by the Lloyds Bank Foundation, which aims to shine a light on the experiences of young women aged 17–25 years old in contact with the criminal justice system, including the experiences of girls transitioning into adult services as they turn 18.
In January we published a literature review, produced to map and grow the evidence-base, and Jessica Southgate and I wrote a blog emphasising the importance of not overlooking young women in the justice system here. In April, we published a new briefing Falling Through the Gaps, which sets out the policy context and key findings of young women’s experiences as they turn 18 and move from the youth to adult justice system, as well as experiencing changes in other kinds of provision.
The next briefing due for publication in September focuses on Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG).
Researching the impact of COVID-19 on the youth justice system
We are now over 6 months into The Youth Justice System’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic research project, delivered in partnership with Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU), funded by UK Research and Innovation.
The AYJ recently published a literature review which aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the existing policy, practice and research literature about the impacts of COVID-19 on the youth justice system. The report documents the exceptional impacts of the pandemic across each stage of the youth justice system.
To accompany the report, we published in a series of blogs: Youth justice consultant, Michael O’Connor, national charity, Khulisa, and Criminal Defence Solicitor, Caroline Liggins, reflect on how they adapted to COVID-19, impacts on the children they work with, and looking forward to implications for the sector in the longer-term.
The MMU team also recently published a research briefing, presenting the initial findings from their fieldwork with YOTs across Greater Manchester, focused on adaptations to practice and service delivery.
The AYJ team will engage with members, policy stakeholders and the Young Advocates throughout 2021, to ensure that their expertise and experiences shape the findings and recommendations of the project.