The punitive transition in youth justice: Reconstructing the child as offender

The transition from ‘child’ to ‘offender’ status can be fast‐tracked when offending is formally recognised through formal disposal, with children treated increasing punitively as they progress through the Youth Justice System. The status and ‘offenderising’ transitions of children who offend is soci...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Children & society 2020-11, Vol.34 (6), p.475-491
Main Authors: Case, Stephen, Bateman, Tim
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ambivalence
Children
Children & youth
Demography
Justice
Juvenile justice
offenderisation
Offending
punitive
Tracking
transitions
Youth
youth justice
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The transition from ‘child’ to ‘offender’ status can be fast‐tracked when offending is formally recognised through formal disposal, with children treated increasing punitively as they progress through the Youth Justice System. The status and ‘offenderising’ transitions of children who offend is socio‐historically contingent, not only on their behaviour, but on political, socio‐economic, societal, systemic and demography. We support this perspective through a periodised re‐examination of four socio‐historical trajectories in the construction of the ‘youth offender’: Conflict, ambivalence and bifurcation (1908‐1979); depenalising diversion and back to justice (1980‐1992), fast‐tracking the child to offender transition (1993‐2007) and tentative depenalisation (2008 to present).
ISSN:0951-0605
1099-0860
DOI:10.1111/chso.12379