Explain how young people are treated within the justice system?

Young people, aged 10-17, are treated differently in the eyes of the law, due to their vulnerability. Under the Crime and Disorder Act 1988, the age of criminal responsibility in the UK is 10 years old. This has attracted a lot of criticism, for example, the United Nation Committee on Children’s Rights suggested it should be aged between 14-15. It is also very low compared to other countries, for example, Turkey has an age of 12 and France has an age of 13. Diverting young people away from criminal activity is the central aim of the Youth Justice System. Punishment is not focused on, as it believed not to work for young people. There has been a huge decline in the use of custodial sentences; as of 2018, there were only 850 young people in prison. Instead, there is a number of programmes and Youth Offending Teams that help to prevent offending and reoffending. If young people are taken to court, studies show that they are more likely to reoffend, therefore, Police are advised to use Out of Court Disposal. This cautions the offender, but does not mean they are required to attend court. If they do have to attend court, they will have to go to the Youth Court. This is part of the Magistrates Court, nonetheless, it has had a number of special requirements, for example, it is not open to the public and takes much more of an informal manner. Young people are actively encouraged to participate and are provided with specially trained CPS Prosecution Lawyers. If a young person has to go to the Crown Court, due to the seriousness of their offence, the Judge must follow the Practice Statement Direction. This means they must consider the age and maturity of the child. It is very rare for a young person to attend the Crown Court; the Practice Statement Direction was not drawn up until the Venables and Thompson trial in 1999.The overall aim of the youth justice system is to divert young people away from offending. The Youth Justice Board for England and Wales was created to monitor, set standards and promote good practise for Youth Justice System. Young people have to be treated differently due to their vulnerability; therefore prison is always used as a last resort.