Youth Offending and Youth Justice

Invited contributions from leading researchers analyze current policy and practice issues in youth justice in the UK and Australia. Each chapter includes references to all four UK countries, and pays some attention to issues such as gender, ethnicity, poverty, and discrimination. The first part of the book provides a social, theoretical, and political context for youth offending and youth justice. Part II examines more practical or specific issues related to work with young offenders. Chapter topics include supervising young offenders, custodial care, and risk assessment. A final essay summarizes themes of the preceding chapters, including the increasing criminalization and stigmatization of youth, and the fact that many youth justice policies are more likely to exacerbate the problem of youth crime. The book is for practitioners, managers, policymakers, and students in social work, youth work, and criminal justice. The authors are affiliated with the Glasgow School of Social Work and the Scottish Center for Crime and Justice Research. Annotation c2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Monica Barry is a senior research fellow at the Glasgow School of Social Work, and an honorary senior research fellow at the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research. She is author of Youth Offending in Transition: The Search for Social Recognition and editor of Youth Policy and Social Inclusion: Critical Debates with Young People, both published by Routledge. Fergus McNeill is Professor of Criminology & Social Work at the Glasgow School of Social Work, a joint initiative of the Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde, and Network Leader at the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research at the University of Glasgow. He is co-author of Reducing Reoffending: Social Work and Community Justice in Scotland, published by Willan.