Outline The Main Ways By Which Offending By Children And Young People May Be Prevented. Explain Any Conflicts You Feel May Exist With The Principles Of Human Rights And Natural Justice.

The aim of the question stated is to discuss how the New Labour Government has responded in terms of preventing children and young people from engaging in criminal behaviour and entering the youth justice system. In order to answer this statement the essay shall explore the various legislations implemented in an attempt to prevent youth criminality, discussing any conflicts that exist with the principles of Human Rights and Natural Justice.

In Britain there are two types of Law, firstly Statutory Law, which are Acts of Law passed by the Parliament. Whereby the Parliament must check its consistency with the 1998 Human Rights Act (the HRA). The HRA ‘introduced European Convention on Human Rights into English Law’ (Crawford & Newburn; 2003: p16). The UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice include: ‘The best interests of the child are paramount; judicial proceedings should be avoided where possible; any intervention should be kept minimum; police, prosecution or other agencies should be able to dispose of cases at their discretion; criminalizing and penalising young people should be avoided unless there is serious damage or harm to others; legal assistance should be prompt and free of charge’ (Crawford & Newburn; 2003: p16).

The second type is Common Law; this is whereby nothing is passed through Parliament, the majority of the Law has evolved by custom, its about a group of people sitting down and coming up with a reasonable answer, this is commonly known as ‘Natural Justice’.

It is a common belief in the UK that youth criminality is a modern phenomenon, however it has been suggested that youth criminality has been the focus of attention