Labour MP David Lammy's independent review into the treatment of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) people in the criminal justice system makes a number of recommendations for improving the way young people are dealt with.
Among these, he calls for greater involvement of parents and key community figures at an early stage of young people's offending.
Key to this, he says, is to replace youth offender panels with local justice panels, which take direct inspiration from Rangatahi courts in Maori communities, where local people with a direct stake in a young offender's life, such as teachers, contribute to hearings (see box).
Youth offender panels are meetings where young people who have offended and received a referral order, their parents, victims of crime and members of the community, come together to discuss the offence, helping them to take responsibility for their actions.
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