The Centre for Crime and Justice Studies examined the reforms Labour had made to the system since the 1998 Crime and Disorder Act, which led to the creation of the Youth Justice Board (YJB) and youth offending teams (YOTs).
Ten Years of Labour's Youth Justice Reforms: An Independent Audit found that, despite record levels of spending on youth justice, no significant reduction in crime has been made.
"A decade on from the creation of the YJB and YOTs, and at a time of rising concerns about youth gangs and violence, the time has come to reappraise the role and purpose of the youth justice system and consider what it can realistically achieve in addressing youth offending," the report said. It argued that youth justice agencies can only regulate youth crime and have minimal direct impact on reducing it. "Important questions therefore need to be raised about the role and expectations that should be made of the youth justice system," it said.
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