Sentencing Young Adults – making the case for sentencing principles for young adults

9 September 2018

Sentencing Young Adults – making the case for sentencing principles for young adults

Courts and sentencing, Sentencing

Open report

Could a tailored legal framework achieve better outcomes in the sentencing of young adults? This report builds on previous Howard League work to show that sentencing can have an enormous impact on the life chances of young adults. It argues that sentencing principles should explore the relationship between immaturity and blameworthiness, capacity to change, the impact of race, and care backgrounds.

Publisher: Howard League for Penal Reform

prison, young adults

Raise the Bars: Co-producing practice guidance with Romany Gypsy and Irish Traveller people

This Friends, Families and Travellers report summarises focus groups with 57 Romany, Gypsy and Irish Traveller young adults across 20 prisons, with recommendations for reform based on their experiences.

Criminal Justice, young adults

Behind the decline

This Centre for Crime and Justice Studies report looks at the shrinking young adult population within the criminal justice system who are experiencing increasingly harsher treatment.

May 2026