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Young adults and the criminal justice system

On 16 November 2005, the Barrow Cadbury Commission on Young Adults and the Criminal Justice System published a report (Lost in transition: a report of the Barrow Cadbury Commission on Young Adults and the Criminal Justice System) which aims to develop a way in which the criminal justice system can recognise the importance of the transition between adolescence and adulthood, with ideas about how the system can promote natural desistance from offending in young adults in transition, and to find a way in which the criminal justice system could better promote the life chances of young adults.

The report says that young adults aged 18-21 are at the peak age for offending yet, with government strategy focusing on those young people aged under 18, there are few programmes and services aimed specifically at those over 18. The report says that:

• the peak age of offending for males is 18
• 18-20 year olds constitute 42% of all first time offenders
• 74% of male offenders between 18-21 reoffend within two years
• black and minority ethnic young adults are over-represented at all stages of the criminal justice system
• young adult crime costs up to £20 billion a year

A wide range of stakeholders was invited to submit written evidence or was consulted through one-to-one or roundtable discussions and a list of organisations consulted is appended to the report. Commissioners also made a number of study visits to projects aimed at helping young adults in transition, in the UK, in Europe and in North America. The recommendations contained in the report have been informed by the consultations and the visits.

The full report can be viewed on the Barrow Cadbury Trust website (pdf).