RT Article
T1 ‘Just a wee boy not cut out for prison’: Policy and reality in children and young people’s journeys through justice in Scotland:
JF Criminology & criminal justice
VO 18
IS 5
SP 533
OP 547
A1 Nolan, Deborah Ann 1955-
A2 Dyer, Fiona
A2 Vaswani, Nina
LA English
YR 2018
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1741490359
AB Youth Justice policy in Scotland, under the ‘Whole System Approach’ (WSA), progressively espouses maximum diversion, minimum intervention and the use of alternatives to custody wherever possible. Yet Scotland still has one of the highest imprisonment rates in Europe. To explore this discrepancy, this qualitative study used individual interviews and focus groups to document the experiences of 14 young males aged 16 and 17 in one Scottish young offenders’ institution on their journeys to custody. Their experiences reveal the significant challenges faced in understanding, navigating and complying with the justice system, and also indicate that the consistent implementation of WSA is problematic. The disconnection between the intentions of the WSA policy and the practical implementation means that these vulnerable young people are not fully benefiting from the WSA. This article therefore highlights important gaps between policy, practice and lived experience in youth justice in Scotland.
K1 Policy
K1 Practice
K1 Scotland
K1 Whole system approach
K1 Youth and criminal justice
DO 10.1177/1748895817745347