Youth Justice in Northern Ireland HELPS Victims and Reduces Reoffence

Imprisonment is widely overused to control child offenders in the United Kingdom. In an effort to control the overwhelming numbers of imprisoned youth, reduce youth crime, and improve the juvenile justice system, Northern Ireland created the Youth Justice Agency (YJA). This program has effectively reduced the population of youth in prison and strongly prevented juveniles from reoffending.

The YJA focuses on restorative justice throughout the legal process. At the center of the program is the youth conferencing system, “at which the offender, victim (or victim representative), professionals and others are brought together to disucss the offense and its repercussions, and to agree on an action plan for the offender.” This may happen prior to conviction or post-conviction. The members discuss many things with the offender such as what laws were broken, who has been hurt, how crime violates individual rights, focuses on guilt, and identifies the needs and obligations of the victim. Then, the conference members agree on a plan, “which sets out actions to be taken by the young person to make amends for the offense and redue the likelihood of further offending”. Such required actions are suited to the offender’s age and capabilities and can include: an apology, community service, working to repay any damages incurred, citizenship education. The plans are not always approved by the oversight legal board, but many are and its success is shown by the high rate of satisfaction among victims, a reduction in reoffender rates, a decline in the use of state custody for offenders, and less overcrowding in the prison system. The YJA has done well enough that England and Wales are integrating the same type of system into their youth legal process.

There are many ways to deal with juvenile offenders and with such a high rate of reoffence in the United States, perhaps our legal system should explore a similar program.

“Out of Trouble” Making Amends: restorative youth justice in Northern Ireland, Jacobsen & Gibbs, 2009