Report on youth justice launched in Northern Ireland Assembly

A report reviewing youth justice policy in Northern Ireland based on research conducted by Dr Nicola Carr, School of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Nottingham and Dr Siobhán McAlister (Queen’s University Belfast) will be launched in the Northern Ireland Assembly today (23 November 2021).

The report was commissioned by four non-governmental organisations – Include Youth, Children’s Law Centre, NIACRO and VOYPIC – and it addresses changes in policy in youth justice following a landmark Youth Justice Review of the system published in 2011. The report notes that one of the fundamental recommendations of the Review – that the minimum age of criminal responsibility should be raised – remains unimplemented. The research calls for greater integration of children’s rights standards into youth justice in Northern Ireland.