There is an impasse in current thinking about youth crime and justice, represented by punitive and harmful practices, and liberal objections to these processes on the other, based predominantly on arguments for ‘rehabilitation’. This book aims to arrive at an alternative strategy for resolving the tensions between young people – especially those on and beyond the margins – and the social world which frames their lives. The book is split into three sections: Part 1 focuses on young people, their attitudes and behaviour; Part 2 considers the way in which their behaviour is constructed as criminal and then addressed; Part 3 considers the limitations of current practices and potential alternatives. Within this broad framework, the differentiated and contested nature of young people’s experiences and our (and their) ideas of ‘youth’ can be counterposed to prevailing one-sided and often discriminatory assumptions about them; in order then to open up questions about the nature and purposes of the youth justice system, and to introduce some possibilities for reconstructing it according to fundamental principles of rights, welfare and social justice. Doing Justice to Young People will be essential reading for anybody working in or studying youth crime and youth justice.

Doing Justice introduces readers to congregation-based community organizing rooted in the day-to-day struggles and hopes of urban ministry. It draws from the author’s decades-long career of personal experience in community organizing ministries. Illustrated with examples from the experience of community organizers, Doing Justice weaves theological and biblical warrants for community organizing into concrete strategies for achieving justice in the public arena. It offers sound treatment of fundamental organizing principles like power, self-interest, and agitation and suggests ways to build and sustain an organization, relate to media and corporations, and strengthen ministries and empower lay leaders. The second edition includes forewords by veteran pastor-activists Bill Wylie Kellermann and Grant Stevensen and a new preface that notes recent changes in organizing, describes needed new directions and connections, and discusses the significance of new movements such as Black Lives Matter. Also new is Stevensen’s running “conversation” with Jacobsen, drawing readers into deeper engagement with organizing practices. Designed for use by congregations and church leaders as well as by ministerial students, Doing Justice will open new vistas for community action in support of the poor, the disadvantaged, and the disenfranchised of our society.

"The goal of a social justice approach for children is 'to ensure that children, defined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child as all persons under the age of eighteen, are better served and protected by justice systems, including the security and social welfare sectors' (United Nations, 2008). Despite this worthy goal, the United Nations (UN) documents how children are rarely viewed as stakeholders in justice rules of law; child justice issues are often dealt as separate from larger justice and security issues; and when justice issues for children are addressed, it is often through a siloed, rather than a comprehensive, approach. The UN concludes: 'Access to justice, though increasingly recognized as an important strategy for protecting the rights of vulnerable groups, and thus for fighting poverty, rarely takes children into account' (United Nations Secretary General [UNSG], 2008)"--

This book examines youth justice in a UK and international context, highlighting the challenge facing all jurisdictions in balancing welfare and justice. It explores the impact of political ideas and influences on the structural and practical challenges of delivering youth justice.

The exciting new edition of this well-loved textbook offers a fully expanded and revised account and analysis of the youth justice system in the UK, taking into account and fully addressing the significant changes that have taken place since the second edition in 2007. The book maintains its critical analysis of the underlying assumptions and ideas behind youth justice, as well as its policy and practice, laying bare the inadequacies, inconsistencies and injustices of practice in the UK. This edition will offer an important update in light of intervening changes, as reflected in a change of government and shifting patterns of interventions and outcomes. This book will be an important resource for youth justice practitioners and will also be essential to students taking courses in youth crime and youth justice.

Warren Copeland draws from his experience of more than two decades in city politics and addresses head on the issue of Christian ethics in public service. Throughout, he animates the discussion with numerous anecdotes from his tenure in City Hall, combining examples of specific ethical issues in American cities with theological and ethical reflection. Then he takes it a step further by including specific suggestions for addressing social injustice in a manner that is true to Christian faith.

"The lessons in this book remind us that we can and that we must do better, for the sake of our children, their futures, and the sake of our nation. . . . This volume is a call to action, and I encourage everyone who reads it to take steps to ensure that all America's children are given an equal chance to succeed. We must all work together to replace the cradle-to-prison pipeline with a pipeline to responsible, productive adulthood." From the Foreword by Marian Wright Edelman, JD, President and founder, Children's Defense Fund, Washington, DC "Juvenile Justice: Advancing Research, Policy, and Practice appears at a critical time, when promising juvenile justice reforms are underway in so many jurisdictions across the United States. Sherman and Jacobs, and their impressive array of expert authors, fill a significant gap in the literature, making the current body of juvenile justice research and experience accessible to policy makers, researchers, and funders, and doing so through a practical and positive lens." Patrick McCarthy, President and Chief Executive Officer, Annie E. Casey Foundation, Baltimore, MD "Most people have narrow views of what it means to be a delinquent youth. In Juvenile Justice: Advancing Research, Policy, and Practice, Sherman and Jacobs have diligently collected essays from the top experts in the juvenile justice field who tell an empirically based and powerful narrative of who is really in the delinquency system. As this book makes clear, until we ask and answer the right questions, we will remain unable to help the youth most in need." Alexander Busansky, President, The National Council on Crime and Delinquency, Oakland, CA A comprehensive reference presenting a rehabilitative, youth- and community-centered vision of juvenile justice Juvenile Justice: Advancing Research, Policy, and Practice brings together experts in juvenile justice, child development, and public health to explore the intersections between juvenile justice and needed development of programs and policies that look out for the health and well-being of the youth who enter this system. This timely book provides a usable framework for imagining juvenile justice systems that emphasize the welfare of juveniles, achieved primarily through connections within their communities. A must-read for professionals working in juvenile courts and within juvenile justice agencies, Juvenile Justice: Advancing Research, Policy, and Practice reflects both the considerable advances and the challenges currently evident in the juvenile justice system, with an emphasis on the development and implementation of policies that can succeed in building a new generation of educated young people able to embrace their potential and build successful futures.