The Youth Justice System in the England and Wales isn’t working;
Barnardo's whose commitment to transforming the lives of the most vulnerable children across the UK through their work, campaigning and research expertise. Believe that they can bring out the very best in every child whether the issue is child poverty, sexual exploitation, disability or domestic violence.
Barnardo’s appears not to consider other ways which the Youth Justice system England and Wales can change, have they given up on our children? . Barnardo’s states ‘ Children who commit very serious offences, custody is inevitable’.
Inevitable ?; for a moment let us consider that In 1994, in Trondheim, Norway, five-year-old Silje Redergard was beaten to death by two 6 year old boys.
What happened to Silje Redergard could have been the news event of the decade. But in contrast to the vengeful rage of the popular press in the UK towards the Bulger killers, there was no sensational reporting of her death in the Norwegian press.
On the day after Silje's body was discovered there were no pictures or descriptions of her in Norwegian newspapers, neither did they give her name. The names of the boys, too, were never revealed to the public – and their anonymity has been protected and respected to this day, even though many people (not least Silje's parents) know who they are. Clearly, great care was taken to ensure that the two boys were protected rather than punished.
The social worker responsible for supervising the care of the boys for eight years after Silje's death is clear about Norway's policy of avoiding the criminalisation of the young. "We don't believe in prison for youngsters," she says, "so we think that if we can help them in any other way, that's what we should do."
Outcomes : Both boys are now 21 years of age there have been no serious problems. Neither have been involved in violence or criminal activities. This example tends to suggest other ways to deal with the children, rather than a brutalising CJ system, which currently remain unexplored.
References:
http://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2010/mar/20/norway-town-forgave-child-killers
http://www.barnardos.org.uk/locking_up_or_giving_up_final1_sept_08.pdf