Introduction

The children speaking in the video at the end of the last session felt that their involvement with the youth justice system labelled them as criminals. It’s significant the video was made in Wales because although there is a single system for both England and Wales, the two jurisdictions have tended to become increasingly distinct. In this session you will get the chance to look at some of the reasons for this. You will be examining the establishment of the Youth Justice Board (YJB) for England and Wales and how the youth justice system operates. The emergence of distinctive forms of practice and policy in Wales will be the focus of learning towards the end of this session.

By the end of this session, you should be able to:

• recognise the main features of the youth justice system of England and Wales
• identify the principles and practice guiding the system’s development
• understand the way the system has been changing.