The Social Impact of Custody on Young People in the Criminal Justice System

Government and societal attention on young people’s involvement in offending has resulted in expansion of the youth justice system, with emphasis on developing effective and sustainable interventions to reduce recidivism and enhance outcomes for young people. Social impact measurement provides the tools for exploring the experiences and outcomes of youth justice interventions. By exploring the social impact of Secure Training Centres, this book will explore the gap present between the theoretical understanding of youth offending and the reality in practice. In addition to exploring the discrepancies between the original remit of Secure Training Centres and current practice, the authors will contribute to the body of knowledge on youth justice by identifying suitable methods for measuring the social impact of youth offending interventions. In doing so the authors seek to provide an evidential frame through which to critique current policy and practice in youth justice as too focused on punitive approaches to recidivism, which lead to poor outcomes for young people and therefore greater costs to society.