Criminal Justice and Violent Young Offenders

Young people between the ages of ten and 17 inclusive who commit grave crimes are invariably sentenced to be detained under Section 53 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933. Subsection (1) provides that such children convicted of murder be detained during Her Majesty's Pleasure for an indeterminate period. The two ten‐year‐old boys convicted of killing James Bulger in 1993 come into this category. Subsection (2) of the 1933 Act provides that such children convicted of other serious crimes, usually involving actual or intended violence, which would attract a sentence of imprisonment of 14 years or more in the case of an adult, be detained for indeterminate periods in excess of the normal custodial limit for that age group. Common examples of this are those sentenced for rape, arson and robbery and those, such as Mary Bell in 1968 who, having been convicted of manslaughter, may be detained for a discretionary life period. This paper draws upon the findings of two research studies (Boswell 1991, 1995) to examine some of the characteristics of this small but singular group of young offenders, notably the population breakdown and the prevalence of background abuse and loss. Reference will be made to the exercise of professional discretion in the sentencing and custodial progressions to which this group is subject. Finally, some pointers for more just, humane and effective practice in this field will be identified

Arson · Criminal justice · Criminology · Discretion · Life imprisonment · Political science · Population · Prison · Sociology · Child Abuse and Trauma · Crime Patterns and Interventions · Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis · Demography · Law · Psychology