Looked after children in the youth justice system: A mixed methods feasibility study

This research builds on a proof of concept study conducted by Dr Helen Hodges which took information from the risk assessment process in youth justice to create mathematical models which enabled the probability of further offending behaviour to be considered over time.

Typically, what would be expected is that as a youth offending team works with a young person who has offended, the various interventions put in place will reduce the likelihood of further offending to a negligible level.

However, it is recognised that having offended, around four out of ten young people go on to offend again, with different rates for boys compared to girls, for different age and ethnic groups, and for those who have a prior history of offending.

The proposed research seeks to explore why there are differences in this trend, and in particular, why care experienced young people appear to fair worse than their peers who have never been looked after. This responds to concerns raised by Lord Laming and David Lammy MP about the overrepresentation of care experienced young people and those from BAME backgrounds in the justice system respectively and acknowledges that neither should be treated as a homogenous group.

Having identified that care experienced young people are a particularly vulnerable within the youth justice system, a mixed methods approach is being adopted which will draw upon the wealth of routine data collected both within the youth justice system and other sources, and the lived experiences of those who have had this ‘double system’ contact.

In particular, the research will seek to establish whether there are key points on the young person’s journey through the youth justice system where they would have benefited from additional support. This might be if they are required to attend court or spend time in custody.

There may also be particular combinations of circumstances which, given the chaotic nature of some young people’s lives which can trigger a rapid escalation of risky behaviour. By seeking to understand these ‘crunch times’, there is the potential to develop timely and appropriate support for specific sub-groups. It is anticipated that this will entail greater multiagency collaboration, so that these young people do not fall through cracks in the various systems involved.

Given the historical tendency within youth justice for adults to make assumptions about what is ‘best’ for the child, this research has been specifically designed so that children’s voices are heard both in terms of identifying, through arts-based activities, where there are issues, and then in proposing where they would like to see change.

We will be working with researchers from CASCADE Voices to develop and prioritise recommendations arising from the research which will be shared with fellow service users, practitioners, policy makers and other key stakeholders via two targeted events and a research report.

It is anticipated that the insights gained by using linked administrative data thorough the application of novel statistical approaches such as those conducted under a Bayesian framework will additionally demonstrate their utility for addressing complex social issues.

In particular, the fact that the accuracy of any statistical modelling improves as more is established about the characteristics and circumstances of the data subjects is inherently more intuitive lends itself to being applied to a policy area where thinking continues to evolve.