Youth Justice Service Conference – 26 th January 2006 Youth Justice Reform An NGO Perspective from the Irish Youth Justice Alliance Jillian van Turnhout

Youth Justice Service Conference – 26 th January 2006 Irish Youth Justice Alliance Objectives: To work towards reforming the youth justice system by promoting practices that are in line with international human rights standards To advocate for the full and immediate implementation & adequate resourcing of the Children Act 2001, and To facilitate networking, research and information-sharing between organisations & individuals throughout the island of Ireland on issues related to youth justice

Youth Justice Service Conference – 26 th January 2006 Children Act 5 years on key provisions of the Act are not commenced Only 2 of the 10 community sanctions are in place Section 77 - allowing the court to divert to the HSE on the basis of need is not yet in force

Youth Justice Service Conference – 26 th January 2006 Principles of Youth Justice Children in conflict with the law have a right: to be treated equally in a manner consistent with respect for their rights and their welfare to age-appropriate treatment to be involved in decisions made that impact on them to an effective independent complaints mechanism to be diverted where appropriate from the criminal justice system to be detained only as a last resort, which requires a variety of alternatives to custody to be available.

Youth Justice Service Conference – 26 th January 2006 Youth Justice Review The Irish Youth Justice Alliance Welcome the recent review Acknowledge the open nature of the consultation process It was a missed opportunity that the review did not have as part of its terms of reference to consult directly with young people

Youth Justice Service Conference – 26 th January 2006 Youth Justice Review The Irish Youth Justice Alliance Welcomes the timeliness of the delivery of the Project Team’s report and the pragmatic nature of many of its proposed reforms Minister Lenihan’s swift action in taking steps to implement the Review’s recommendations.

Youth Justice Service Conference – 26 th January 2006 Youth Justice Service Welcome decision to establish a Youth Justice Service. We call for the Service to: be empowered to ensure effective co-ordination of service provision and policy development between key departments and the range of agencies who have statutory duties in this area make strong links to integrate their work with other services in the areas of health and education be sufficiently resourced to enable it to carry out its remit – with a ring-fenced budget

Youth Justice Service Conference – 26 th January 2006 Youth Justice Service provide leadership in the area and to be integrated into services and enable input at a local and community level be expanded to include those with experience of youth justice issues and challenges base its operations, policy and research work on the principles of youth justice and Ireland’s international obligations, in particular under the UNCRC act as a standard-setting body with a duty to develop and monitor the implementation of models of best practice

Youth Justice Service Conference – 26 th January 2006 Youth Justice Strategy child-focused the principles of youth justice Ireland’s international obligations, in particular the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child International standards on youth justice including the Beijing Rules, the Riyadh Guidelines and the Detention Rules Must be rights-based

Youth Justice Service Conference – 26 th January 2006 Youth Justice Strategy The process of drafting the Strategy must: be transparent and inclusive and serve to generate consensus regarding the reform process Must be undertaken together with those working with and for children in conflict with the law; including academics, researchers, legal practitioners and the judiciary Must take into account the views of children in conflict with the law – in accordance with the National Children’s Strategy and Article 12 CRC

Youth Justice Service Conference – 26 th January 2006 Proposed Reforms Proposed amendments to the Children Act (under the Criminal Justice Bill) Irish Youth Justice Alliance welcomes the commitment to allow inspection of detention schools by the Social Services Inspectorate. the decision to bring responsibility for the detention of children under one department, which will lead to the removal of children (under 18 years) from adult prisons.

Youth Justice Service Conference – 26 th January 2006 Proposed Reforms The Irish Youth Justice Alliance concerned: that the proposed amendment to set 10 as the age of criminal responsibility for serious crimes introduction of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders, which can be granted for non-criminal ‘anti-social’ behaviour potential net-widening effect of expanding the Garda Diversion Programme, according to which children are not prosecuted but are diverted to a police-led diversion scheme, to those who are involved in anti- social rather than criminal behaviour.

Youth Justice Service Conference – 26 th January 2006 Realising Potential The Irish Youth Justice Alliance: we believe that new service offers considerably potential to solve these problems and raise the quality of services provided to children and young people. we look forward to working with the Youth Justice Service, the Office of Minister for Children, the Department of Education and the HSE to make a lasting difference to the lives of young people in conflict with the law.