Please help us test our new pre-print finding feature by giving the pre-print link a rating. A 5 star rating indicates the linked pre-print has the exact same content as the published article.
Authors:Jayne Price, Dean Wilkinson, Charlene Crossley Abstract: This paper aims to explore young peoples’ authentic experiences of youth justice services (YJS) during the Covid-19 pandemic. By adopting the creative arts-based method of lyric writing, the research team sought to empower participants through collaboration and participation and to facilitate them leading the narrative (Deakin et al., 2020). This research adopted a creative arts-based method in which participants worked alongside an artist to generate lyrics that captured their experiences within YJS. Such an approach demonstrated a commitment to participatory, child-first approaches. Two main themes were identified: identity and relationships. The young people vocalised resistance to frequent labelling and their ambitions to move away from past criminal identity and behaviour. Relationships with practitioners could be a source of frustration within this but were also highlighted as valuable and supportive. As data collection was remote, owing to the Covid-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns, the opportunity to develop relationships with young people within the YJS prior to conducting the research was restricted. This approach may have also impacted recruitment of participants. The sessions presented short-term interventions and whilst follow-up sessions were offered, many did not take them up. Although the research sample is small and cannot be considered representative, it allows for a valuable insight into the experiences of young people at a particularly challenging time. Upon receiving our findings and recommendations, the first YJS research site has sought to further embed a relationship-based practice model and greater creative/participatory socially prescribed psychosocial therapeutic interventions, including music groups and spoken word artists to work with children and young people. This research adds to the growing literature base surrounding creative arts-based research with children and young people for their value towards communication, pro-social identity and development. Citation: Safer Communities PubDate: 2023-04-05 DOI: 10.1108/SC-08-2022-0029 Issue No:Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2023)
Please help us test our new pre-print finding feature by giving the pre-print link a rating. A 5 star rating indicates the linked pre-print has the exact same content as the published article.
Authors:Samantha Burns Abstract: This study aims to explore adult professional’s role using the conceptual framework of co-production. It proposes that when adult professionals recognise children’s expertise, they can form equal, interdependent partnerships as co-constructors of knowledge which are integral to co-production practice, but structural and cultural barriers persist when working with justice involved children. This study investigates the sociocultural context of Hong Kong to expand critical knowledge of co-production in youth justice. This paper uses a qualitative approach and reports on data gathered from participant observation and interviews with social workers in a local children’s service. This paper empirically uncovers how missed opportunities for social workers to transform their role when working with justice involved children. Partnerships were highly valued as an important part of social workers role, but in practice, equal partnerships were met with institutional and cultural barriers, whereas interdependency formed but social workers still navigated tensions of regulating children’s behaviour. Deeper theoretical understanding of the structural and cultural impact on co-production across youth justice in the Hong Kong context remains to be explored, though focusing on the repositing of adult professional roles supports a greater understanding of the conflicting practice within youth justice. Professionals can reflect critically on how their role as co-constructors of knowledge can be achieved to expand children’s meaningful participation into the planning and design of programmes to co-create objectives and share power. This paper combines theory of co-production with local Asian practices, identifying how barriers towards transformation play out through relationships between children and front-line professionals. Citation: Safer Communities PubDate: 2023-02-17 DOI: 10.1108/SC-09-2022-0042 Issue No:Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2023)
Please help us test our new pre-print finding feature by giving the pre-print link a rating. A 5 star rating indicates the linked pre-print has the exact same content as the published article.
Authors:Laura Caulfield, Bozena Sojka Abstract: Previous research has demonstrated the positive impact of participation in a music programme run by a Youth Offending Team in England (Caulfield et al., 2020). While the previous research focused solely on children involved with the criminal justice system, the purpose of this current paper is to report findings from research extended to young people identified as ‘at risk’ of involvement with the criminal justice system, vulnerable, or disengaged. A mixed-methods approach was taken, using quantitative measures of the primary outcomes (educational engagement, well-being, musical development and attitudes and behaviour), complemented and extended by semi-structured interviews with a sample of participants. Analysis of the quantitative data from 57 participants showed significant improvements in self-reported engagement with education, musical ability and well-being. In-depth interviews with 11 participants added a depth of understanding about children’s experiences of the programme and the impact they felt, providing a safe space and improved confidence and well-being. This paper builds on previous research in schools and youth justice settings by presenting findings on the impact of a music programme on the educational engagement and well-being of children identified as at-risk of offending, vulnerable or disengaged. Citation: Safer Communities PubDate: 2023-02-02 DOI: 10.1108/SC-08-2022-0032 Issue No:Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2023)
Please help us test our new pre-print finding feature by giving the pre-print link a rating. A 5 star rating indicates the linked pre-print has the exact same content as the published article.
Authors:Francis Hargreaves, Paula Carroll, Grace Robinson, Sean Creaney, Andrew O’Connor Abstract: This paper aims to explore the purpose and outline the key features of Liverpool Football Club Foundation’s County Lines (CL) programme and how principles of collaboration and co-production can be implemented to educate children at risk of entering the youth justice system. This paper reviews the findings from a 12-week CL intervention programme in 14 secondary schools in the Liverpool City Region between 2021 and 2022. The programme was designed in collaboration with funders, partners and participants and aimed to improve knowledge of, and change attitudes towards CL and its associated harms, including knife crime and child exploitation. Knowledge and attitude changes were measured across 12 indicators, with positive changes recorded for each indicator. Perhaps of most interest to those working in the sector was the recorded success in obtaining consistent attendance from beginning to end with very little erosion of engagement. This suggests that the content and method of delivery was successful in engaging harder to reach young people to make positive change. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first of its kind to examine how collaboration and co-production (two of the five principles of the Serious Violence Strategy 2018) can be implemented by a football charity and its partners to educate children in a local community on the harms of CL. Citation: Safer Communities PubDate: 2023-02-01 DOI: 10.1108/SC-09-2022-0041 Issue No:Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2023)
Please help us test our new pre-print finding feature by giving the pre-print link a rating. A 5 star rating indicates the linked pre-print has the exact same content as the published article.
Authors:Andrew Day, Catia Malvaso, Luke Butcher, Joanne O'Connor, Katherine McLachlan Abstract: Recent years have seen significant policy and practice interest in how to best respond to the impact of childhood maltreatment and adversity on young people’s contact with youth justice systems. In Australia, this has resulted in increasing pressure to implement trauma-informed practice, although this is a term that has different meanings for different stakeholders, and little is known about the perspectives of justice-involved young people. This paper aims to review what is currently known about co-production in youth justice and discuss ways in which young people can be meaningfully involved in the development of trauma-informed practice frameworks. A narrative approach is used to present a contextual overview of youth justice in Australia, introduce key concepts underpinning trauma-informed practice and consider the barriers and facilitators of co-production and participatory approaches to the development and implementation of trauma-informed practice. Youth justice in Australia is widely viewed as in urgent need of reform, with broad interest in developing more trauma-informed practice in these systems. Co-production and participatory approaches are fundamental to the reform process and can help to ensure that the views and aspirations of the children for whom these systems are responsible are embedded in efforts to implement trauma-informed practice. This paper presents an argument for implementing trauma-informed practice in Australian youth justice that is based on consultation and collaboration with young people. It does not present evidence about the potential effectiveness of such an approach. This paper has direct implications for youth justice practice, in terms of both service philosophy, design and delivery. The work discussed in this paper offers possibilities for new and different ways of responding to youth crime and maintaining community safety. Whilst the need to re-imagine youth justice is widely recognised, there are few resources available to support efforts to co-produce trauma-informed practice. This paper synthesises what is known about these approaches and offers some suggestions and possible ways forward. Citation: Safer Communities PubDate: 2023-01-19 DOI: 10.1108/SC-08-2022-0030 Issue No:Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2023)
Please help us test our new pre-print finding feature by giving the pre-print link a rating. A 5 star rating indicates the linked pre-print has the exact same content as the published article.
Authors:Andi Brierley Abstract: The purpose of this viewpoint paper is to explore the concept of experiential peer support, which involves individuals who have lived experiences of using care and justice services. This paper discusses whether experiential peer support can contribute to developing a participatory culture in youth justice practice. This viewpoint paper will critically evaluate the relational power of experiential peers. Particular attention will be paid to the key components of relational practices by reflecting on ways to enhance the voice of the child within participatory and child first approaches. The paper draws on a range of evidence and research to explore whether inclusion of a lived experience perspective can foster participatory cultures. Experiential peers can create a participatory youth justice culture, which can positively impact on desistance for justice involved children. Further research needs to be undertaken to extrapolate the key characteristics of effective experiential peer support. This includes discussion on whether recruitment of wounded healers into professional youth justice roles can enhance participation in youth justice settings and construct conditions for social growth to develop in youth justice practice. The author of this viewpoint paper has personal experience of care, youth incarceration and professional experience of youth justice participation practice, providing a unique vantage point and contribution to the desistance and rehabilitation literature. Citation: Safer Communities PubDate: 2023-01-16 DOI: 10.1108/SC-07-2022-0024 Issue No:Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2023)
Please help us test our new pre-print finding feature by giving the pre-print link a rating. A 5 star rating indicates the linked pre-print has the exact same content as the published article.