Leaders Unlocked supports young people from diverse backgrounds to influence change on the issues that affect their lives. It was founded by Rose Dowling in 2015 with the belief that any young person could become a leader if the right conditions were created for them to thrive.

Since 2015 Leaders Unlocked projects have provided young people with the space, support, and tools they need to lead. Completely youth-led, Leaders Unlocked enables young people to define their own priorities, produce their own research, develop recommendations and co-produce solutions.

In 2020, Leaders Unlocked established a Youth Board – a group of motivated young leaders representing all of its work areas: criminal justice, education, health, and policing. These young leaders are helping to drive Leaders Unlocked’s growth as an organisation – working on its strategy, business development, partnerships, media and communications. The Youth Board of Leaders Unlocked have co-produced and authored this Impact Report – a vibrant record of its collective achievement over the last 6 years.

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The new evidence review by the national justice charity Revolving Doors for T2A (Transition to Adulthood), reveals that delivering tailored interventions that meet the health and human needs of young adults can turn young people’s lives around, reduce crime and improve public safety.

The review brings together the latest evidence and emerging good practice that are shown to support young adults to move away from the criminal justice system. It highlights the need to scale up investment in police assisted diversion services to meet the ever-rising time demand on policing and courts.

Evidence from this review recommends that police-assisted diversion services should:

• Avoid prosecutions for low-level and non-violent crimes where possible to have the most impact
• Deliver tailored responses to meet the specific needs of young adults’ health, human needs and maturity
• Apply trauma-informed approaches to understand root causes of crime and minimise harm
• Adopt a gender-specific and culturally competent approach to achieve equable outcomes for young adults in the criminal justice system
• Promote a pro-social identity that builds on their strengths and abilities and empowers them to shape their own future
• Link young adults and their families into sustainable and long-term support to prevent future crises.

Pavan Dhaliwal, Chief Executive of Revolving Doors Agency, said,

“The benefits of out of court disposals are generally well known but what is often lacking is evidence about works about these programmes specifically and importantly given the fact that they make up around a third of all police cases, what works in reducing reoffending in young adults.

This new review shines a light on interventions that are most effective for diverting young adults into support. It pushes the New Generation agenda forward into practical steps towards reducing reoffending and offers the chance for young adults to turn their lives around.

With magistrates’ courts backlogs expected to rise ten-fold, it is vital that police and crime commissioners invest in diversion services so that the police can deal with low-level crime effectively.”

Natasha, New Generation young adult campaigner, said,

“What made the biggest difference for me was having a consistent support worker who worked with me at every step of my journey, taught me how to notice patterns, followed up after I left the service, and encouraged me to seek help. I liked how they did not judge me or make me feel less than. This made me see the light at the end of the tunnel and push me to make the positive changes and embark on my journey to change.”

Joyce Moseley, Chair, T2A said:

“T2A (Transition to Adulthood) has been working to develop and collate best practice evidence from the UK and globally to understand how young adults (18 to 25) can best be supported to move away from crime. This report from the Revolving Doors Agency makes a valuable contribution to that evidence base of diversionary approaches for young adults. Young adulthood can be a time of high offending but it is also the period where with the right interventions rapid desistance from the cycle of crisis and crime can be achieved.”

The Magistrates Association has published a new report on how the issue of maturity is currently handled within magistrates’ courts. Based on research funded by the Barrow Cadbury Trust, the report argues that all young adult defendants’ maturity should be assessed before they come to court and magistrates should receive training on the issue of maturity.

The issue of how young adults should be treated within the criminal justice system has been the subject of extensive research in recent years and has also been considered by two recent Justice Select Committee inquiries. However, most of the research to date has been restricted to crown courts, despite the fact that the majority of criminal offences that come to court are dealt with entirely in magistrates’ courts.

With the publication of new Sentencing Council guidelines in 2019 providing more detail on the specific mitigating factor relating to age or lack of maturity, the MA thought it was important to gather the experiences of magistrates on dealing with young adults and their developing maturity.

The report brings together the key findings from MA research into magistrates’ understanding of maturity and how it is currently handled within magistrates’ courts. The research included a survey of magistrates, a series of focus groups with magistrates, and a roundtable with other court participants including representatives from Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service, community rehabilitation companies, youth offending teams and defence solicitors.

Two overarching recommendations arose from this research:

1. More independent assessments on maturity need to be carried out before the first hearing.
2. Training needs to be provided to magistrates to give them a general understanding of maturity and how it affects both participation of young adults in court and sentencing decisions.

Commenting on the report, MA chief executive Jon Collins said:  There has been extensive research about developing maturity, and the apparent cliff edge for young people when they turn 18 in respect of the criminal justice system. Given that magistrates deal with the majority of criminal cases, it was important to get their views on this issue. The final report sets out some key recommendations which the MA is keen to take forward.

‘Magistrates recognise that more training on the issue of maturity would be beneficial, while assessments of young adult defendants’ maturity should be carried out routinely before they come to court. This would help magistrates to be better-informed about the people appearing before them, which would in turn support improved court practice and fairer, more effective sentencing.’

A launch event for the report will be taking place online on Tuesday 16 February at 11am.

The executive summary can be read here and the full report can be read here.

The Magistrates Association is an independent charity and the membership body for the magistracy. We work to promote the sound administration of the law, including by providing guidance, training and support for our members, informing the public about the courts and the role of magistrates, producing and publishing research on key topics relevant to the magistracy, and contributing to the development and delivery of reforms to the courts and the broader justice system. With over 14,000 members across England and Wales, we are a unique source of information and insight and the only independent voice of the magistracy.

Joyce Moseley Chair of the Transition to Adulthood (T2A) Alliance welcomes the Justice Select Committee’s report on Children and Young People in Custody (Part 2): The Youth Secure Estate and Resettlement, published today 10 Feb.

The Committee heard evidence from the Barrow Cadbury Trust and from Leaders Unlocked’s Young Justice Advisers on the difficulties of the transition from youth to adult services. That evidence to the Committee illustrates the importance of support for young people during this transition.  That support has not always been forthcoming. We know from neuroscience that young people continue maturing past their 18^th birthday, often until their mid-twenties.  Any progress made by a child in the youth justice system is interrupted by the ‘cliff edge’ of turning 18.   A large number of young people have mental health needs, neuro-cognitive disabilities and a background of care placements. These vulnerabilities can be made more acute by the transition from youth justice and child social care services into the adult system.

The recommendations made by the Committee for the Ministry of Justice to publish a ‘youth to adult policy framework’ and to implement it across the youth and adult estates is welcomed by the T2A Alliance.  Although  guidance is already in place to support the transitions process, the remit of existing guidance is only to ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of the transitions process.  T2A believes that more attention must be paid to the best interests of the child, including early identification of any vulnerabilities, provision of consistent support, and the option not to transfer a young person into the adult system, if there are good reasons to keep them in the youth system – such as a pending parole hearing or completion of a work or educational placement. To enable the child to be fully engaged in the process, the Ministry of Justice should listen and learn from those with lived experience of the transfer process.

Finally, the existing transition process and the revised one once implemented, T2A recommends should be regularly reviewed by the Ministry of Justice to assess how effective they are at developing pro-social identities in young people, and enabling them to contribute to society for the duration of their adult lives.

Want to learn more about how to effectively support young adults?

Guides for practitioners

Five sentencing principles for young adults have been launched today by the Howard League for Penal Reform.  The proposed sentencing principles for young adults, typically aged 18 to 25, have been devised in line with developments in case law, science and social studies. If applied, they would assist the courts and improve sentencing outcomes.

The Howard League brought together an advisory group of experts to help draft the principles, drawing on the charity’s legal and participation work and the growing knowledge base about the needs and characteristics of young people.

The five sentencing principles are:

1. Young adults, typically aged 18 to 25, should be treated as a distinct category for the purposes of sentencing.
2. Custody should be a last resort for young adults.
3. Where a custodial sentence is imposed, the term should take into account the impact of prolonged custody on the young adult’s well-being and life chances.
4. The period of any custodial term should be less than that imposed on an older adult.
5. When considering mitigating factors, attention should be paid to how they particularly affect young adults.

More than 140,000 young adults aged 18 to 24 were sentenced to a community penalty or imprisonment in criminal courts in 2017. Imprisonment of young adults can have tragic consequences – between 2006 and 2016, 164 young adults aged 18 to 24 died in custody, of whom 136 lost their lives through suicide.

There is now a consensus that young adults aged 18 to 25 should be treated as a distinct group from older adults, largely because they are still maturing. Particularly compelling is the neurological and psychological evidence that development of the frontal lobes – the area of the brain that helps to regulate decision-making and the control of impulses that underpin criminal behaviour – does not cease until the age of about 25.  In terms of brain physiology, susceptibility to peer pressure appears to continue until at least the mid-twenties, and the brain continues to mature in this period. Such evidence has led to calls from senior paediatricians to redefine ‘adolescence’ as the period between ages 10 and 24, and to reframe laws, social policies and service systems accordingly.

There is also evidence that one of the prevailing characteristics of this age range is the differing rates of development within the group – maturation occurs at different rates between individuals. Determining factors are not well understood, but there is growing recognition that social contexts have a strong influence, including those likely to also be influencing offending behaviour.

According to the Howard League, in spite of overwhelming evidence that young adults should be treated as a distinct group from older adults, the sentencing process, as it stands, does not sufficiently factor in the lessons from neuroscience, psychology and criminology.  The Howard League asserts that if applied, the sentencing principles would enable judges and magistrates to make better-informed decisions, and prevent more young people from being involved in the criminal justice system.

Read ‘Sentencing Principles for Young Adults‘

Nacro has called for an end to Friday prison releases because of the time constraints they place on prisoners. Being released on Friday leaves prisoners minimal time to access vital housing, employment and benefits services before they close for the weekend. This can result in people not being able to collect medication, having to sleep rough and survive on a £46 discharge grant until services reopen on Monday.

Currently one third of prison releases take place on Friday, Nacro Chief Executive Jacob Tas has called for a a change in the current system stating:

“Ending Friday releases would go a long way towards helping people leave prison with the time to access the services they need. We believe there are immediate simple and cost-effective steps that can be taken by the government and prison governors to ensure Friday releases are avoided.”

The Briefing is the first in a series from Nacro looking at practical challenges to effective resettlement for people leaving prison and put forward cost effective solutions.

Read the full briefing here

Young adults, defined as individuals aged 18 to 25, represent around 10 per cent of the UK population but account for a third of those sentenced to prison and 30-40 per cent of cases involving police time each year. There is a growing body of research which shows that many young adults have not yet reached the full maturity of adults, which can lead them to engage in risky behaviour. This has led many to argue, along with T2A and its initiative,  for a distinct approach to this age group that is carried across all agencies of the criminal justice system.

The Police Foundation‘s new report, launched today, illustrates the current approach in policing and argues that there is a case for taking a tailored approach to the 18 to 25 age group.

The report sets out what such an approach might look like and proposes to test these ideas in police forces in England and Wales.

Read the report 

Eighteen months after the publication of the Government’s response to the Justice Committee’s landmark report on young adults, the Committee has found that the approach taken by ministers has been too narrow and that the government should commit “to more fundamental reform”.

In a report published yesterday which assesses progress made by the government in implementing its commitments to young adults, the Committee Chair Bob Neill concludes that “the current approach taken by ministers is not yet working and we are not convinced that it will”. He calls on the government to develop a “clear and effective strategy” which recognises young adults’ strengths and supports them effectively.

Commenting, Joyce Moseley OBE, Chair of the T2A Alliance said: “18-25-year-olds in the criminal justice system have a hugely untapped capacity to address their behavior and permanently “grow out of crime”. Following the Justice Committee’s landmark “blueprint” for a strategic approach to the treatment of young adults in the criminal justice system, we share the Committee’s frustration at the government’s failure to acknowledge the strength of evidence for more significant change. This is despite the limited progress that has been made in some areas to take better account of maturity. We hope this report will act as a spur to develop a robust and bold agenda dedicated to enabling young adults who commit crime to turn their lives around.”

The last Committee published a report on its inquiry on the treatment of young adults aged 18 to 25 in the criminal justice system in October 2016. T2A provided both oral and written evidence to the inquiry which reviewed the extensive body of evidence from disciplines including neuroscience, criminology and psychology for a distinct approach for young adults.

The 2016 report concluded that “there is overwhelming evidence that the criminal justice system does not adequately address the distinct needs of young adults” and sets out a bold “blueprint” for a strategic approach to the treatment of young adults in the criminal justice system. At the time, T2A welcomed the Committee’s “landmark and visionary report” and called for it to be implemented “in full and without delay”.

The then Government’s response, published in January 2017, accepted that young adults “must remain a priority group for criminal justice agencies” and committed to further developing operational practice based on maturity. However, it did not accept the Committee’s central recommendation for the Ministry of Justice to produce a specific young adult strategy.

The Committee took evidence from the Ministry about its preferred approach and the progress it had made in implementing the recommendations it did accept. In the report published yesterday, MPs concluded that the Ministry of Justice has adopted its current approach to reform due to cuts to its wider budget and the need for practicality. The report makes recommendations for ensuring that a more distinct approach is taken to young adults, on the basis of stronger evidence than the Ministry has gathered, particularly about how young adults are treated in prison. It says that the Government must commit to more fundamental reform in its Justice 2030 project.

A new report, published today by the Centre for Justice Innovation and T2A, suggests that a fairer and more distinct approach to how courts deal with young adults could reduce reoffending, meaning fewer victims of crime.

The report  ‘A fairer way: procedural fairness for young adults at court’ sets out a blueprint for a new approach to 18-25 year olds in court, developed over the last two years by criminal justice practitioners, as well as young adults themselves, in five areas of England and Wales. These areas have worked with the Centre for Justice Innovation to develop a model that could be delivered within current law and at no extra cost to the public.

This new approach has the support of the Police and Crime Commissioners of Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, the West Midlands, and South Wales, who, in a joint letter to Justice Secretary David Gauke MP today, state “This innovative multi-agency approach has the potential to benefit not only the young adults but the criminal justice system as a whole. The chance for change is likely to be higher for these young people before their pattern of offending becomes more entrenched. There is a high degree of local enthusiasm in each of our areas for the pilots and much thought has been put into how the pilots could work in practice.”

The Ministry of Justice and the London Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime, along with the judiciary, have recently announced they are exploring the potential for a young adult appropriate court in London.

The adapted court model draws upon scientific international research that has shown young adults’ brain development and maturity makes them a group distinct from both children and from fully mature adults. It recommends ways to make court processes more understandable and more transparent for young adult defendants. The proposed changes are based on ‘procedural fairness’ evidence that suggests a more understandable and fairer court process is likely to increase young adults’ compliance with court orders and reduce young adults’ likelihood of committing further offences.

These proposed changes have the support of the influential House of Commons Justice Select Committee, which in their 2017 report on young adults in the criminal justice system said, “there is a strong case for a distinct approach to the treatment of young adults in the criminal justice system… The potential of young adult courts are worth testing.” Moreover, the recent report by David Lammy MP on trust of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic defendants in the criminal justice system stressed that “To build trust, the challenge is to demystify decision making processes and bring them out into the open, so they can be better understood.”

Phil Bowen, the Centre’s Director said; “The evidence behind procedural fairness is simple — people are more likely to obey a court’s decision when the court process is made more understandable and more transparent. The model outlined in this report offers a clear way forward to making this happen in practice.”

Today, a Memorandum of Understanding between the London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, and the Secretary of State for Justice, David Gauke, was published. The MoU, ‘Working Towards Justice Devolution to London’, sets out a bold plan to implement a distinct criminal justice approach to young adults aged 18-25 across the capital.

It includes a commitment between “MOPAC, MoJ and London Councils to explore with the judiciary the scope for developing a new young adult (18-25) appropriate court within London (within existing legislation).”

In the section on page 18 entitled ‘Young offenders and the transition to the adult offender management system’, it states:

“Our ambition is to reduce the numbers of young Londoners from being incarcerated in institutions deemed to be unsafe and/or being locked up far away from their families and communities, which hampers resettlement and continuity of services. We also wish to us devolution as a tool to develop new initiatives to improve outcomes for London’s young offenders and young adults transitioning from the youth justice service to the adult criminal justice service, including exploring the commissioning of a new secure institution for London’s young offenders.”

The ‘Key commitments’ set out in this section include two significant announcements, which would deliver key T2A policy:

• MOPAC, MoJ and the YJB to work together to review how the criminal justice system manages the transition of young adults from the youth justice system into the adult justice system in London and how this could be improved. This should include exploring the possibility for:
o Testing a new approach to assessing maturity and extending youth justice approaches where there are low levels of maturity.
o Co designing a pilot to test the integration of resources to better support young adults during the transition between youth offending teams and probation services

• MOPAC, MoJ and London Councils to explore with the judiciary the scope for developing a new young adult (18-25) appropriate court within London (within existing legislation).

The MoU also commits to exploring financial devolution that “will include a particular focus on female offenders and 18-25 year old offenders.”