Research from a range of disciplines strongly supports the view that young adults are a distinct group with needs that are different both from children under 18 and adults older than 25, underpinned by the developmental maturation process that takes place in this age group. In the context of the criminal justice system this is important as young people who commit crime typically stop doing so by their mid-20s.
Those who decide no longer to commit crime can have their efforts to achieve this frustrated both by their previous involvement in the criminal justice system due to the consequences of having criminal records, and limitations in achieving financial independence due to lack of access to affordable accommodation or well-paid employment as wages and benefits are typically lower for this age group.
Witnesses Andrew Selous MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State and Minister for Prisons, Probation and Rehabilitation, Ministry of Justice, and Michael Spurr, Chief Executive, National Offender Management Service; Angela Cossins, Deputy Director, National Probation Service, Max Rutherford, Criminal Justice Programme Manager, Transition to Adulthood Alliance Barrow Cadbury Trust, and Huw Williams, Professor of Clinical Neuropsychology and Co-director of the Centre for Clinical Neuropsychology Research, Exeter University (at 10.30am).
Witnesses Stephen Greenhalgh, Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, Mayor's Office for Policing and CrimeAndrew Hillas, Head of 18-25 young offender cohort, London Community Rehabilitation Company, David Ripley, Director of Resources, Durham Tees Valley Community Rehabilitation Company, Grace Strong, Strategic Partnership Manager, The Yap!Mat Ilic, Justice Strategy Director, Catch 22, Bex Mullins, Young Women's Keyworker, Advance Minerva, Bernie Kastner, Community Services Manager, St Giles Trust
Witnesses Dr Kate Gooch, Birmingham Law School, and Nick Pascoe, Deputy Director of Custody for Young People, National Offender Management Service; Malcolm Richardson JP, Chairman, and Fiona Abbott, Chair, Youth Court Committee, Magistrates’ Association, Ben Estep, Youth Justice Programme Manager, Centre for Justice Innovation, and Michael Caplan QC (at 10.30am).