Martin Partington: Spotlight on the Justice System

Two recent announcements from the Ministry of Justice have been concerned with the interaction between young people and the law.

The first, called the ‘London Justice Programme’ is the latest initiative of the National Centre for Citizenship and the Law. Though based in Nottingham, the Centre has been seeking to develop national initiatives, of which the London Justice Programme is the latest development. At present there is not a lot of detail on what the programme involves, but it does provide opportunities for children at school to visit courts, hold mock trials there, and more generally become more aware of the legal system. The announcement at http://www.justice.gov.uk/news/features/feature170511a.htm provides a link to a video which gives the flavour of what is on offer.

There has also been an announcement about a new DVD – made by the Halton and Warrington Youth Offending Team (which comes under the Youth Justice Board) – which seeks to explain how restorative justice works and the demands that restorative justice measures make on those subject to them. The press announcement suggests that the DVD will be available from the YJB, but my researches do not currently indicate how it may be viewed. But it could be a useful source of information about restorative justice, challenging the perception that it is a ‘soft option’. For the press announcement, see http://www.justice.gov.uk/news/press-releases/yjb/yjb-news-release-20may2011a.htm