Young offenders as victims

I have been reflecting on my early career as a youth worker in a semi-secure children's home. In this role I worked directly with many young offenders who, despite their misdemeanors, were all very damaged or mentally ill children. At that time I felt like a lone voice advocating that we should be helping them come to terms with the abuse and harm that they had suffered rather than punishing them.
Sadly, youth justice is still predicated on seeing the young person as an ‘offender' first.
This focus leads to a simplistic delineation between ‘offender' and ‘victim', which can be at odds with the experience of many young people in the youth justice system who are victims of crime, as well as abuse and neglect.
Many children who come to the attention of youth justice services will have been exposed to trauma in their life - either directly experiencing physical, emotional and/or sexual abuse, or witnessing events that cause extreme distress. Some will have experienced repeated and extended ‘complex trauma' that increases the chance of lasting issues.
Of course, it is imperative not to excuse offending behaviour and its impact, but rather to understand and address its causes in order to prevent its recurrence. Signs or disclosure of past trauma may only become apparent after an offender has been in the system for a period of time. The wider discourse on victims of crime largely neglects to acknowledge that young people who offend are disproportionately more likely to be a victim of crime.
The evidence on the relationship between children who offend and children who have suffered trauma is well established. Studies indicate that between 33-92 per cent of children in custody have been affected by traumatic experience. A study of YOT caseloads in London found that: