Page 73 - JUSTICE Tackling Racial Injustice - Children and the Youth Justice System

the CJS. 208 Lastly, it will ensure that children’s needs will be met as early as
possible. This would ensure issues such as addiction or mental health
conditions do not escalate, and thus require greater resources to address further
on.
209

Problem solving sentencing hearings

3.38 Northamptonshire YOT considers that problem-solving sentencing hearings
(PSHs) could offer a solution to these issues. These are hearings that seek to
understand the complex needs of the child prior to sentencing. 210

3.39 PSHs are labour-intensive and longer than traditional sentencing hearings. In
addition, we have heard that, although well-intentioned, they may not be
suitable for every child. For instance, where a child has urgent needs, preparing
and undertaking a PSH may not be the best use of resource, even if the aim is
to find the best outcome. For these reasons, we do not consider that PSHs
should be used in every case. However, should an evaluation demonstrate
positive results, we recommend that PSHs be rolled-out to every Youth
Court, with clear guidance on its suitable use. We also consider that PSHs
could be beneficial to young adults and believe that a pilot for this age group,
subject to careful monitoring, should take place. This would be in keeping with
the spirit of the new proposals to pilot problem-solving courts in the Smarter
Approach to Sentencing White Paper, insofar as they supplement, and do not
displace, diversion-based approaches. 211

208 A. Petrosino, C. Turpin-Petrosino and S. Guckenberg, Formal System Processing of Juveniles:
Effects on Deliquency, (Cambpell Systematic Reviews, 2010:1).
209 B. Estep and C. Robin-D’Cruz, Valuing youth diversion: a toolkit for practitioners, (Centre for
Justice Innovation, 2019), p.9.
210 As such, attendees include a range of people concerned for the child’s welfare, including youth
workers, YOT workers, gang mentors, educators, and others deemed to have relevant information about
the child. At the PSH, everyone is given a chance to speak and express their thoughts discuss what they
believe is best for the child, including the child themselves. This seeks to provide improved
understanding of the child, their context and their reasons for offending. This will allow for disposals to
be designed that better suit the child and their needs.
211 Ministry of Justice, A smarter approach to sentencing, (September 2020).

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