Transcript Youth Justice Reform - Irish Penal Reform Trust

Youth Justice Reform
An NGO Perspective from the
Irish Youth Justice Alliance
Jillian van Turnhout
Youth Justice Service Conference – 26th January 2006
Irish Youth Justice Alliance
Objectives:
•
To work towards reforming the youth justice
system by promoting practices that are in line
with international human rights standards
•
To advocate for the full and immediate
implementation & adequate resourcing of the
Children Act 2001, and
•
To facilitate networking, research and informationsharing between organisations & individuals
throughout the island of Ireland on issues related
to youth justice
Youth Justice Service Conference – 26th January 2006
Children Act

5 years on key provisions of the Act are not
commenced

Only 2 of the 10 community sanctions are in place

Section 77 - allowing the court to divert to the
HSE on the basis of need is not yet in force
Youth Justice Service Conference – 26th January 2006
Principles of Youth Justice
Children in conflict with the law have a right:
• to be treated equally in a manner consistent with
respect for their rights and their welfare
• to age-appropriate treatment
• to be involved in decisions made that impact on them
• to an effective independent complaints mechanism
• to be diverted where appropriate from the criminal
justice system
• to be detained only as a last resort, which requires a
variety of alternatives to custody to be available.
Youth Justice Service Conference – 26th January 2006
Youth Justice Review
The Irish Youth Justice Alliance

Welcome the recent review

Acknowledge the open nature of the consultation
process

It was a missed opportunity that the review did not
have as part of its terms of reference to consult
directly with young people
Youth Justice Service Conference – 26th January 2006
Youth Justice Review
The Irish Youth Justice Alliance

Welcomes


the timeliness of the delivery of the Project Team’s
report and the pragmatic nature of many of its
proposed reforms
Minister Lenihan’s swift action in taking steps to
implement the Review’s recommendations.
Youth Justice Service Conference – 26th January 2006
Youth Justice Service
Welcome decision to establish a Youth Justice Service.
We call for the Service to:
•
be empowered to ensure effective co-ordination of
service provision and policy development between key
departments and the range of agencies who have
statutory duties in this area
•
make strong links to integrate their work with other
services in the areas of health and education
•
be sufficiently resourced to enable it to carry out its
remit – with a ring-fenced budget
Youth Justice Service Conference – 26th January 2006
Youth Justice Service
•
•
•
•
provide leadership in the area and to be integrated
into services and enable input at a local and
community level
be expanded to include those with experience of youth
justice issues and challenges
base its operations, policy and research work on the
principles of youth justice and Ireland’s international
obligations, in particular under the UNCRC
act as a standard-setting body with a duty to develop
and monitor the implementation of models of best
practice
Youth Justice Service Conference – 26th January 2006
Youth Justice Strategy
•
child-focused
•
the principles of youth justice
•
Ireland’s international obligations, in particular the UN
Convention on the Rights of the Child
•
International standards on youth justice including the
Beijing Rules, the Riyadh Guidelines and the Detention
Rules
•
Must be rights-based
Youth Justice Service Conference – 26th January 2006
Youth Justice Strategy
The process of drafting the Strategy must:
•
•
•
be transparent and inclusive and serve to generate
consensus regarding the reform process
Must be undertaken together with those working with
and for children in conflict with the law; including
academics, researchers, legal practitioners and the
judiciary
Must take into account the views of children in conflict
with the law – in accordance with the National
Children’s Strategy and Article 12 CRC
Youth Justice Service Conference – 26th January 2006
Proposed Reforms
Proposed amendments to the Children Act
(under the Criminal Justice Bill)
Irish Youth Justice Alliance welcomes
•
the commitment to allow inspection of detention
schools by the Social Services Inspectorate.
•
the decision to bring responsibility for the detention of
children under one department, which will lead to the
removal of children (under 18 years) from adult
prisons.
Youth Justice Service Conference – 26th January 2006
Proposed Reforms
The Irish Youth Justice Alliance concerned:
•
that the proposed amendment to set 10 as the age of
criminal responsibility for serious crimes
•
introduction of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders, which
can be granted for non-criminal ‘anti-social’ behaviour
•
potential net-widening effect of expanding the Garda
Diversion Programme, according to which children are
not prosecuted but are diverted to a police-led
diversion scheme, to those who are involved in antisocial rather than criminal behaviour.
Youth Justice Service Conference – 26th January 2006
Realising Potential
The Irish Youth Justice Alliance:
•
we believe that new service offers considerably
potential to solve these problems and raise the quality
of services provided to children and young people.
•
we look forward to working with the Youth Justice
Service, the Office of Minister for Children, the
Department of Education and the HSE to make a
lasting difference to the lives of young people in
conflict with the law.
Youth Justice Service Conference – 26th January 2006