Next month, he will take 30 young offenders aged 14 to 25 to parliament to give their views of the youth justice system to policy-makers. It will demonstrate the vision he has strived for since his successful rehabilitation from criminality and drug abuse, as recorded in his book, Wasted.
"I wanted to create a structure that would leapfrog the historical problems of the system," he says.
In 2008, he set up the charity User Voice, which is run by ex-offenders who want to make young offenders' voices heard. Johnson believes they are the most qualified people to design youth justice services. "We're deluded in this country about who the experts are," he says. "We value academic over experiential learning and we wonder why our services don't work, we have a ridiculous incarceration rate and youths are revolting on the streets."
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