A good starting point.

Staines, Jo

Youth Justice and Child Protection Malcolm Hill, Andrew Lockyer and Fred Stone (eds) Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2007 320 pages 22.99 [pounds sterling]

This book is a collection of papers that addresses recent developments in the interface between youth justice and child protection in the United Kingdom and beyond. Together the papers contribute to the debate about whether the ends of justice and effective intervention for children are better served through the use of separate, divergent court systems for children in need and children in trouble, or through single, integrated court systems such as the Scottish Children's Hearings System. The authors provide insights into the rationale for current and proposed policies, as well as the efficacy of different judicial and service systems.

After a comprehensive introduction by the three editors, which considers international trends in child protection and youth justice policies, the principles that underlie state intervention, and the arguments for integrated or separate responses to youth crime and child protection, the chapters are divided into four sections. Part 1 offers a tantalising insight into other countries' approaches to youth justice and child protection, with contributions from Finland, Ireland, USA, England and Wales, and Sweden. While demographically not dissimilar, there are some interesting disparities in policy and practice between these countries. For example, in Ireland only recently has the age of criminal responsibility been raised from seven to 12, resulting in an increasingly welfare-based response to early offending behaviour, yet in Sweden the traditional welfare approach to youth crime is being replaced by a more punitive approach that sees children involved in crime as offenders first and children second.

Part 2 focuses solely on the English/ Welsh and Scottish systems, incorporating papers looking at the trends in child protection and youth justice policy in the latter part of the 20th century. Of particular interest is the historical overview of the divergence in approach between England/Wales and Scotland outlined by Anthony Bottoms and Vicky Kemp. The third section of the book consists of only two papers on issues in evaluation, both of which focus on the Scottish Children's Hearings System. Researching and evaluating child welfare and youth justice systems can be so complex that it is of some surprise and frustration that more emphasis was not given to these issues. Part 4 considers lay decision-making and the rights of children, their parents and society within the Children's Hearings system, plus one further international contribution from the USA. Jointly these papers criticise the perceived division between 'needs and deeds' (ie welfare concerns and offending behaviour), and advocate a broader view of 'social justice' for children that achieves both justice and the welfare of the child.

Each section of the book has a clear theme and the individual chapters provide accessible and interesting insights into specific aspects of youth justice and/or child protection policy and practice. However, the book as a whole lacks coherence, reflecting perhaps its origins in a conference held in Scotland in 2003, rather than in response to a more tightly defined brief. Inviting further contributions, for example from other parts of Europe and the developing world to create a truly international focus, or on evaluations and research to provide a more thorough epistemological discussion, could have resulted in a more comprehensive--and ultimately more satisfying--book.

Nonetheless, Youth Justice and Child Protection does raise interesting questions about whether the needs of children and the communities in which they live are better met by treating young people according to their status as offenders, victims or both, or on the basis of their individual needs in the context of family support. It will be an important reference tool for those working in youth justice and child protection, particularly in Scotland, and provides a good starting point for policy-makers, practitioners, academics and students interested in the interface between these two areas.

Jo Staines (formerly Lipscombe) is an independent criminal justice consultant and author of Care or Control? Foster care for young people on remand (BAAF, 2006)