This second report from the Young Advocates Project presents findings from engagement with 90 children and young people across England and Wales, and focuses on the three priority topics of criminalisation, policing, and intervention and diversion. The aim was to explore the routes into the justice system for young people, as compared to pathways out and away from it.

AYJ Policy Manager Millie Harris reflects on the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)’s report on the UK’s performance on it’s international obligations on children’s rights, which calls out the Government for a lack of progress on youth justice.

This symposium on the policing of children brought together AYJ members and wider stakeholders to identify good and bad practice, discuss failures in policy, legislation, regulation, and guidance, determine solutions and develop AYJ policy positions.

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has published its Concluding Observations on the UK, setting out its concerns and recommendations regarding children’s rights

On 25th April 2023, a selection of the Young Advocates attended the first evidence session of the APPG on Children in Police Custody’s Inquiry into Achieving the Rights of Children in Police Custody.

Comment from AYJ Interim Chief Executive Saqib Deshmukh following the publication of data analysis from the Children’s Commissioner for England on the strip search of children in England and Wales.

The AYJ’s Interim CEO Saqib Deshmukh reflects on the findings of Baroness Casey’s independent review into the standards of behaviour and internal culture of the Metropolitan Police Service.

The AYJ has responded to the Children’s Rights Alliance for England’s (CRAE) call for written evidence to inform the Civil Society Alternative Report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child 2022.

Today, AYJ publishes the first of three policy briefings for our ‘Impact of COVID-19 on Youth Justice’ research project. The briefing presents the significant risk of a surge in the number of children drawn into the youth justice system following the pandemic.

This first report from the Young Advocates Project presents findings from engagement with over 120 young people across England and Wales, and focuses on the three priority topics of stereotypes, education and warning signs, and jail (custody). The aim was to identify patterns that run through society, and the education and justice systems overall, to find out what young people feel increases the chance of entering the justice system.

This literature review 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 review considers the impacts of the pandemic across each stage of the youth justice system, bringing together findings from community-based responses, the courts, and the secure estate.

We welcome the opportunity to respond to the Home Office consultation on Serious Violence Reduction Orders (SVROs). We consulted widely with our members to ensure that the breadth and depth of their expertise informs our submission to the consultation.