View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by LSE Theses Online 1 London School of Economics and Political Science Youth Justice in England and Wales: Exploring young offenders’ perceptions of restorative and procedural justice in the referral order process Lauren Margaret Iona Lacey A thesis submitted to the Department of Social Policy at the London School of Economics for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, London, August 2012 2 Declaration I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the MPhil/PhD degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without my prior written consent. I warrant that this authorisation does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. I declare that my thesis consists of 86,176 words. Lauren Lacey 3 Abstract In recent years the government has introduced youth justice policy which claims to draw on the philosophy of restorative justice as an alternative to punitive sanctions. Referral orders were implemented nationally in 2002 and purportedly represent a significant policy commitment to restorative justice. Rather than incarcerating offenders or deterring them through punishment, referral orders aim to encourage them to understand the consequences of their behaviour, make amends and re-join the law abiding community. This is purportedly achieved through a youth offender panel (panel meeting) run by lay members of the local community along with a member of staff from the youth offending team (YOT). The panel meeting aims to provide a forum away from formal court proceedings to discuss the offence and to agree and construct a contract that the offender must follow. Referral orders therefore present a useful arena in which to explore young offenders’ experiences of restorative justice and to compare this with their experience of the more formal court process. Research has revealed that fair procedures are important in securing people’s compliance with the law and that offenders view restorative processes as fairer than court. However, the majority of research in this area has been done with adults and there is comparatively little research that focuses on young offenders’ perceptions of criminal justice processes. For children, procedural safeguards largely relate to the manner in which adults interact with them. My research therefore explores young people’s experiences with a range of authority figures including: teachers, police officers, magistrates, lay panel members and staff at the YOT. In doing this I aim to consider both how young people perceive the restorative elements of referral orders and more broadly, the way in which they form judgements of different criminal justice processes and sources of authority. 4 Acknowledgements There are a number of people, without whom, this thesis would not have been possible. First and foremost, I offer my sincere thanks to my supervisor Professor Tim Newburn for his patience, encouragement and unwavering support throughout my time at the LSE. I am very grateful for the support of the staff at both of my research sites and to all of the young people and staff who gave their time to be interviewed for the research. I thank the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) for the studentship which enabled me to study my PhD full-time. I am also very lucky to have had wonderfully supportive colleagues and fellow PhD students at the LSE and beyond. In particular, my thanks go to Manmit Bhambra and Sophie Wee for keeping me sane and for sharing this journey with me. Thanks are also due to my parents who inspired me to love learning and to have a strong social conscience, both of which led me to this study. Last, but by no means least, I would like to dedicate this thesis to my fiancé Patrick, who has been incredibly supportive over the past four years and always had faith that I would get here. 5 Contents CONTENTS ......................................................................................................................................... 5 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................... 9 CHAPTER TWO YOUNG PEOPLE, JUSTICE AND LEGITIMACY ............................................................. 15 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................................... 15 REFERRAL ORDERS: A HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL BACKDROP .......................................................................... 15 CONTEMPORARY YOUTH JUSTICE IN ENGLAND AND WALES ............................................................................. 20 RESTORATIVE JUSTICE .............................................................................................................................. 24 Defining restorative justice ........................................................................................................... 24 Restorative philosophy .................................................................................................................. 25 The history of restorative practices ............................................................................................... 29 Critical issues in restorative practice ............................................................................................. 36 PROCEDURAL JUSTICE .............................................................................................................................. 40 Procedural justice and restorative justice ..................................................................................... 40 Research on procedural justice and the criminal justice system ................................................... 43 Children and Research on Fair Procedures .................................................................................... 45 Procedural justice, restorative justice and referral orders ............................................................ 54 CHAPTER THREE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ................................................................................... 56 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................................... 56 RESEARCH QUESTIONS ............................................................................................................................ 57 RESEARCH METHOD ............................................................................................................................... 58 SAMPLING RESPONDENTS ........................................................................................................................ 62 MANAGING THE RESEARCH PROCESS ......................................................................................................... 67 Access ............................................................................................................................................ 67 Conducting research with young offenders .................................................................................. 70 6 RESEARCH ETHICS ................................................................................................................................... 73 Considering harm to participants.................................................................................................. 74 Informed Consent .......................................................................................................................... 75 Data protection and confidentiality .............................................................................................. 77 Considering potential risks to the researcher ................................................................................ 78 DATA ANALYSIS ..................................................................................................................................... 78 CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................................... 80 CHAPTER FOUR ................................................................................................................................ 81 EXPLORING YOUNG OFFENDERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF TEACHERS AND POLICE OFFICERS ..................... 81 BACKGROUND ....................................................................................................................................... 81 YOUNG PEOPLE’S EXPERIENCES AT SCHOOL ................................................................................................. 85 Background ................................................................................................................................... 85 Factors affecting young people’s judgements of teachers ............................................................ 87 YOUNG PEOPLE’S EXPERIENCES WITH THE POLICE: BACKGROUND .................................................................... 94 “SOME OF THEM ARE ALRIGHT”: FACTORS AFFECTING YOUNG PEOPLE’S JUDGMENTS OF