Does the practice of Restorative Justice currently facilitate effective communication between victims and children in Youth Justice in England & Wales
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Sussex
Department Name: Sch of Law, Politics and Sociology
Abstract
This study will aim to assess whether or not Restorative Cautioning (RC) currently assists in supporting the needs of young people in the Youth Justice System (YJS) in England & Wales ("this jurisdiction") since the new statutory system of Youth Cautions (YCs) and Youth Conditional Cautions (YCCs) was introduced in April 2013 under LASPO for under 18 year olds ("children").
Statement of Research Aims
I have chosen to analyse RC in the YJS as I have already identified the three issues above arising from empirical research and the Justice Committee Report which need urgent reform, relating these to current practice in the YOT Areas via qualitative empirical analysis as this is a gap in current research.
-Analyse whether or not RC currently assists in supporting the needs of young people in the YJS in this jurisdiction.
-Assess how far RC fits with normative RJ principles or whether actual practice has more in common with other theories of criminal justice and diversion.
-Analyse whether RC works for children with SLC issues & identify how this could be addressed if not.
-Analyse whether RC is working for children with SEN issues & if not, consider how this could be facilitated more successfully & identify initiatives that can be taken from Primary level onwards to assist children to learn more effectively and behave appropriately to avoid contact with the YJS, particularly in the education system, outside the YJS.
-All research aims will be assessed by relating them to current practice in YOT Areas.
Description of Proposed Research Methods & Perspective
Research Perspective: Theories of Criminal Justice and Diversion
This study will look at how far RC as currently practised in this jurisdiction fits in with normative RJ principles or whether actual practice has more in common with other theories of criminal justice and diversion, for example, Choongh's Social Disciplinary Model. Locating actual practice in a current theoretical framework for social control will help to move RJ theory beyond current descriptions of social control which can be negative and limiting. RJ is in its infancy in this jurisdiction and RJ theory should point diversion policy and practice in new directions focussing on RJ principles to guide development of a new theoretical framework for positive community social control to strengthen the community response to youth crime. This study aims to provide a new theoretical framework for this purpose.
Sampling: This study will select key figures to interview from three YOT Areas to illuminate the study's key research questions, via purposive sampling, in order to provide contemporary data and insight.
The sampling strategy will use three guidelines to select its informants to ensure a purposive sample which adequately represents the issues under consideration.
Elite, Semi-Structured Interviews: I will conduct elite, semi-structured interviews with key practitioners and policy makers in the area as well as young offenders and their parents, analysing the resulting data with thematic analysis, having obtained ethical approval to do so from Sussex University and the relevant YOT Area Councils. All ethical requirements will be followed.
I will design a number of relevant questions for each group of informants (around 12 for manageability). These questions will illuminate the research questions relevant to their area and will allow for flexibility and to follow unexpected lines of inquiry which may arise so that the results can be compared and contrasted. A disadvantage will be that the data will not be representative of the YJS as a whole but it will be useful to the YOT Areas.
Thematic Analysis:will be used to identify and refine important concepts in the interviews, a key part of qualitative analysis. The interviews will be recorded, transcribed and recurring themes coded, categorized and represented in chart form to assist analysis.
I will also conduct participant observations
Statement of Research Aims
I have chosen to analyse RC in the YJS as I have already identified the three issues above arising from empirical research and the Justice Committee Report which need urgent reform, relating these to current practice in the YOT Areas via qualitative empirical analysis as this is a gap in current research.
-Analyse whether or not RC currently assists in supporting the needs of young people in the YJS in this jurisdiction.
-Assess how far RC fits with normative RJ principles or whether actual practice has more in common with other theories of criminal justice and diversion.
-Analyse whether RC works for children with SLC issues & identify how this could be addressed if not.
-Analyse whether RC is working for children with SEN issues & if not, consider how this could be facilitated more successfully & identify initiatives that can be taken from Primary level onwards to assist children to learn more effectively and behave appropriately to avoid contact with the YJS, particularly in the education system, outside the YJS.
-All research aims will be assessed by relating them to current practice in YOT Areas.
Description of Proposed Research Methods & Perspective
Research Perspective: Theories of Criminal Justice and Diversion
This study will look at how far RC as currently practised in this jurisdiction fits in with normative RJ principles or whether actual practice has more in common with other theories of criminal justice and diversion, for example, Choongh's Social Disciplinary Model. Locating actual practice in a current theoretical framework for social control will help to move RJ theory beyond current descriptions of social control which can be negative and limiting. RJ is in its infancy in this jurisdiction and RJ theory should point diversion policy and practice in new directions focussing on RJ principles to guide development of a new theoretical framework for positive community social control to strengthen the community response to youth crime. This study aims to provide a new theoretical framework for this purpose.
Sampling: This study will select key figures to interview from three YOT Areas to illuminate the study's key research questions, via purposive sampling, in order to provide contemporary data and insight.
The sampling strategy will use three guidelines to select its informants to ensure a purposive sample which adequately represents the issues under consideration.
Elite, Semi-Structured Interviews: I will conduct elite, semi-structured interviews with key practitioners and policy makers in the area as well as young offenders and their parents, analysing the resulting data with thematic analysis, having obtained ethical approval to do so from Sussex University and the relevant YOT Area Councils. All ethical requirements will be followed.
I will design a number of relevant questions for each group of informants (around 12 for manageability). These questions will illuminate the research questions relevant to their area and will allow for flexibility and to follow unexpected lines of inquiry which may arise so that the results can be compared and contrasted. A disadvantage will be that the data will not be representative of the YJS as a whole but it will be useful to the YOT Areas.
Thematic Analysis:will be used to identify and refine important concepts in the interviews, a key part of qualitative analysis. The interviews will be recorded, transcribed and recurring themes coded, categorized and represented in chart form to assist analysis.
I will also conduct participant observations
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| Julia Winstone (Student) |
Studentship Projects
| Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ES/J500173/1 | 01/10/2011 | 02/10/2022 | |||
| 1796911 | Studentship | ES/J500173/1 | 01/10/2016 | 29/02/2024 | Julia Winstone |
| ES/P00072X/1 | 01/10/2017 | 30/09/2027 | |||
| 1796911 | Studentship | ES/P00072X/1 | 01/10/2016 | 29/02/2024 | Julia Winstone |