12 Children’s Justice: A View from America Donald N. Duquette Introduction The children’s justice systems of the United Kingdom and the United States of America evolved from common legal traditions and similar social philosophies. The first US juvenile court in 1899 rested upon a philosophy very familiar to the British: . . . Read more

11 The Place of Lay Participation in Decision-making Barbara Reid and Ian Gillan In this chapter we examine the role of lay people in judicial decision-making about children and young people. Our focus in the first section is on the justification of lay decision-making in general and the forms it . . . Read more

10 The Scottish Children’s Hearings System: Thinking about Effectiveness Lorraine Waterhouse Any child welfare and youth justice system needs to be judged so far as possible by evidence about how well it is working and its impact. The Children’s Hearings System has come under increasing political scrutiny. How robust is . . . Read more

9 Assessing How Well Systems Work: The Example of Scottish Children’s Hearings Sally Kuenssberg Introduction In their book on juvenile justice in Scotland published in 1998, Lockyer and Stone (1998) commented that the changes introduced in the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 had ‘a dual potential which will allow the core . . . Read more

8 Change, Evidence, Challenges: Youth Justice Developments in Scotland Bill Whyte Introduction Scotland has had a distinctive approach to youth justice for more than 30 years in the shape of its Children’s Hearings System, which attempts to integrate measures for protecting children and dealing with their criminal behaviour within a . . . Read more

7 The Relationship between Youth Justice and Child Welfare in England and Wales Anthony Bottoms and Vicky Kemp Introduction In a recent analytical survey of youth justice in Great Britain, it was argued that ‘the differing structural relationship between what used to be called the “criminal” and the “care” jurisdictions . . . Read more

1 Approaching Youth Crime through Welfare and Punishment: The Finnish Perspective Johanna Korpinen and Tarja Pösö Introduction In a recent legal article, Kimmo Nuotio (2004) noted that only a couple of years ago it would have seemed strange to use such a concept as youth criminal justice in Finland. Even . . . Read more

3 Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice in the USA: A Practice Perspective Mark Creekmore Introduction: practice and policy in child welfare and juvenile justice This chapter focuses on issues that arise in separating child welfare from juvenile justice functions in the USA. I will examine policy and practice developments and . . . Read more

4 Juvenile Crime and the Justice System in Sweden Anna Hollander and Michael Tärnfalk Introduction Youth crime is very much a topic of discussion in public, political and legal debates both in Sweden and internationally. Youth criminality is problematic for many reasons. The literature on juvenile justice is largely concerned . . . Read more

2 The Interface between Youth Justice and Child Protection In Ireland Helen Buckley and Eoin O’Sullivan Introduction There is a widespread acceptance that factors such as poverty, abuse and neglect, poor educational outcomes and behavioural problems are characteristic of the majority of children and young people who find themselves embroiled . . . Read more