We recently wrote an open letter to the Minister of State for Prisons, Parole and Probation, Damian Hinds MP, on the subject of 18-year-olds being held in youth custody. We have included our policy position statement on the issue in full below.

T2A’s position on Extending Youth Justice provisions to Young Adults

HMPPS is currently retaining higher numbers of young adults in the children’s secure estate and on children’s youth justice caseloads. In April 2023, 22% of the whole children’s estate population and roughly 28% of the YOI population were young adults rather than children. This follows a Ministerial Directive—issued in December 2022 under Operation Safeguard—which stated that Youth Custody Institutions should hold young adults past their 18th birthday and transition them into adult prisons before their 19th birthday. One of the primary drivers behind this change is the major, growing capacity issues within the adult prison and probation systems alongside high levels of staff dissatisfaction and illness, and poor staff retention.

While it is unclear both whether this is a temporary measure and whether the government is actively considering merging young adults into the children’s system more systematically, in the light of the existing change in policy and the potential impact on both children and young adults, T2A has taken the opportunity to consider its position on the significant extension of children’s custodial spaces to young adults and has concluded that we have serious reservations about the policy which we believe must be reconsidered.

On one hand this represents an extension to existing policy. It is long-established practice for some 18-year-olds to have been kept within children’s institutions and on youth justice team caseloads for pragmatic reasons, for example, young adults on remand who are due to be sentenced within months and those who have youth justice Community Orders or Detention Training Orders to complete within a relatively short period of time, typically before their 19th birthday.

T2A has welcomed the new Framework for transitions from the child to adult custodial estate which was introduced in September 2022, and which created new processes within the Youth Custody Service to oversee and make placement decisions about all young adults transitioning. This has resulted in some 18-year-olds who have been assessed as standing to benefit from longer stays within the youth justice system – on account of their level of maturity, need for continuity from support services and the lead-in time needed to secure a place at a suitable adult institution. The implementation of this process took place in a similar timeframe to the Operation Safeguard decision, so it is not clear how much of the increase in proportion of young adults are a result of the new processes or capacity-driven decisions.

Having considered the evidence available to it of how practice is rolling out, T2A is of the view that the detrimental impact of a blanket policy of retaining 18-year-old young adults in the children’s system is both likely to outweigh the benefits to young adults and risks undermining children’s rights. While research suggests that the needs of young adults can be very similar to those of children (due to where they are in their psycho-social development journey), T2A has consistently called for a distinct approach for young adults i.e., one that draws on approaches to children but is separate to both child and adult approaches. Historically, T2A has made no specific recommendations for the youth system in its entirety to be extended to Young Adults though we have called for greater consideration of how youth provisions, including for example, magistrates trained to work with under-18, practice in youth courts and assessment tools could be adopted for young-adult specific provision. We have also advocated for ‘alternative approaches’ to be considered by policymakers in England and Wales. These include the Dutch approach, where the remit of the youth justice system extends to 25-year-olds, and the German approach, where courts can apply juvenile or adult law to young adults depending on needs and levels
of maturity.

To inform our position on the extension of juvenile custody to young adults, we have considered a range of factors. This includes the potential positive outcomes for young adults which could stem from this policy shift, provided this is in the context of there being a clear set of enablers and protections for children in place. This includes, for example,

• an opportunity to further raise awareness across youth and adult systems that young people do not become fully mature adults on the eve of their 18th birthday – a campaign point that T2A has been championing since its inception
• increased recognition of the distinct needs of young adults, and how the process of maturation, and the prevalence of developmental delays due to adverse childhood experiences and neurodiverse needs can mean these needs align closely with those of children
• greater stability of relationships with key members of staff and access to statutory provisions for children, including Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) support which could mitigate the worst effects of the cliff-edge at 18, when these relationships and provisions currently end abruptly.
• reduction in poorly managed transitions which can prove incredibly damaging to young adults at a critical stage in their maturational development
• better appreciation of how training for youth practitioners and youth approaches support the needs of young adults and are likely to promote desistance, including for example, trauma-informed, exploitation-aware and child-first approaches.

Were this policy change be designed to appropriately support young adults and create a young-adult specific approach across the custodial estate, we would endorse it. However, in our view, any benefits to the individuals currently in the youth estate are likely to be significantly outweighed by the drawbacks, both for young adults and children. Poorly resourced and reactive changes to capacity issues are likely to compromise existing provision for children and come at the expense of their welfare or the rights and protections that are afforded to them for good reason, while not benefiting young adults who may not get access to appropriate services. Indeed, we have heard that there has been increased deployment of enforcement mechanisms, including dogs, adult restraint techniques, and discussion of the potential introduction of PAVA spray, for example. Other drawbacks include young adults’ needs becoming secondary to children and a potential detrimental impact on the outcomes of young adults who are ready to transition to the adult estate which can, managed well, be an opportunity for a young adult to reinvent themselves, establish new relationships and mark a personal development milestone.

T2A maintains its view that there should be a distinct approach to criminal justice for young adults which adopts and adapts practices which have been developed for children to better support healthy maturational development, enables young adults to form positive self-identities, and minimises the detrimental impact of the criminal justice system on their long-term outcomes whilst seeking to maintain public safety. Our ideal is that this would be delivered through a separate system which is developed carefully, following consultation, and funded adequately.

July 2023

Earlier this year, HMPPS produced their Care Experience Matters guide for prison and probation staff and leaders, and local authority staff. The guide looked at how to support people with care experience in custody and on probation – primarily young adults up to the age of 25.

Centering young adult voices in the design and delivery of professional guidance allows for much more tailored support. That’s why T2A was particularly pleased to see that this new resource reflects the experiences of those who’ve been in care and involved in the criminal justice system.

The guide also contains links to other HMPPS training resources that will help professionals feel more confident about using these tools.

Young adults may be reluctant to talk about the fact they’ve been in care. To help make this easier the guidance stresses taking the time to develop relationships with young adults. It also emphasises how crucial it is for a safe, supportive space to be created where young people feel able to open up about their life experiences.

The guide is helpfully broken down by profession with distinct guidance for prison officers and leaders, probation officers and leaders, and local authority staff. Professionals can also learn more about what each service offers, as well as their respective responsibilities to young adults, making it easier to work collaboratively. This means young adults are more likely to have a seamless network of support across each service.

Each chapter also includes reflections from young adults who have been in care. These first-hand accounts are hugely informative and allow practitioners to see what effective support looks like from a young adult perspective.

One incredibly valuable insight for T2A was that many young adults were not aware that, because they had been in care, they were still eligible for support from a personal advisor (PA) after the age of 21- and in fact up to the age of 25.

Many young adults said that their PA was often their only contact with the outside world, and they relied on this support during their time in custody.

“Visits give you a connection to the outside world. There is no escape otherwise.”

(Lord Farmer Review, 2017)

Here at T2A, we champion the sharing of best practice guidance informed by young adults’ views, voices, and experiences. Creative approaches like these will reduce crime and ensure the best long-term outcomes for young adults.

Want to learn more about how you can support young adults?

Guides for practitioners

We recently spoke to Natalie Wilks, Managing Director of Jonah’s Project CIC, about their new Peer Hearing project – part funded by the Barrow Cadbury Trust.

The inspiration for the pilot came from US-based community courts. Natalie explains: “I came across the practice of peer courts in the US three years ago. They harness the power of local partners and community organisations to provide interventions and pathways away from crime.”

In 2007, there was a community court pilot in the Birmingham Magistrates’ Court. Unfortunately, Natalie found that there was limited information available about the pilot’s outcomes.

“There was no data, and only two news stories. I was initially just interested in learning more about what a peer court here in UK might look like, so I started to do some more digging.”

Natalie contacted Assistant Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for the West Midlands, Tom McNeil, and she was put in touch with some organisations who were developing problem-solving courts.

Tom McNeil adds: “I’d been told Natalie had a reputation for helping young people make great progress in education, when struggling with various issues, including being misunderstood for their neurodiversity. I made lots of introductions for her and advocated funding because there was something special about Natalie and her ability to see potential in everyone.”

This led to an introduction to T2A and a subsequent collaboration to develop a peer court pilot in Birmingham. The services Jonah’s Project CIC provide are shaped and influenced by the young people they support, so Natalie wanted to involve them from the very beginning of the project.

“The young people we work with were very skeptical of the programme. But then they attended a meeting about what it might involve and started to look at the research behind it.”

Their vision for a peer court service designed by and for young adults was born.

“They changed the name from ‘peer court’ to ’peer hearing’. None of us wanted such a formal process. Instead of jury members, the young adults on the panel are now called peer reviewers.

“No young adult who is referred to us will be called an offender. Instead, they will be the presented young person. The young people we support came up with this and have been very influential in the way we’ve developed it.”

The peer reviewers will receive expert training to prepare for the role. Natalie adds: “The training will help young adults look at their biases and better understand them. We’ll also cover critical thinking, active listening, safeguarding, confidentiality, and collective decision-making.”

Jonah’s Project CIC has recently moved into a new premises where the hearings will take place. Natalie expects that the team will start receiving case referrals from West Midlands PCC by the Autumn.

“When we’re set up, a referral will come from the police straight to us. We then go visit the young person they’ve referred to see what life is like for them at present.

“They then come to a peer hearing with a panel of no more than four to five peer reviewers. One of the peer reviewers will be an advocate for the presented young person and be their voice if they can’t use their own.”

Natalie aims to create a safe and supportive environment where every young person feels able to open up about their situation.

“It’s more of a motivational interviewing set up where we coach the young person. What would have happened if we went a different way? How did we end up here? What would a different path look like?”

This positive approach helps the panel gain a much better perspective of the young adult’s situation.

“The panel can then decide on an appropriate community intervention. This could be employment, sports, mentoring, therapy, family support or whatever else might be needed.

“We want to use local partners where possible, rather than big organisations, so young adults don’t feel like they’re getting lost in the system.”

Natalie and her team have developed an intervention log, so the young person’s progress can be recorded.

“We’ve got assessment tools that practitioners can use to track a young adult’s development, and all these interactions will be added to the log and shared with the community partners involved in the case.

“We’ll also have short catch ups with each young adult to make sure they’re happy with their intervention and that we’re all on the same page.”

The length of the intervention will be tailored to each young adult’s needs. Jonah’s Project CIC also plans to stay in touch further down the line.

“Once the intervention is finished, we’ll check in three, six and nine months down the line. We want every young person to have the best chance to succeed.”

Want to learn more about Jonah’s Project CIC pilot Peer Hearing service?

Visit their website

We recently interviewed Karene Taylor from Leaders Unlocked, which has been funded by the Barrow Cadbury Trust since 2016. We spoke with Karene about the value of peer support, joining the Campaign Management Group (CMG) that influences T2A’s work, and how employing people with lived experience in HMPPS roles would change the system for the better.

What were your first thoughts when you were approached about joining the CMG?

When I first got asked, I was apprehensive about joining. I was thinking, ‘Do I belong alongside these people who have a history of working in the justice system? I’ve been in the system. Is that enough?’

When you’ve been in the justice system, you feel that your wings have been clipped. That’s why I ultimately decided to join. Representation is key, and I want other young adults to see that this is possible for them too.

I have a unique take and opinion that the rest of CMG can’t offer. I represent people that often aren’t heard. Going through the justice system as a young adult is incredibly tough, and if I can help in any way, I’m glad to have played my part.

How have you found the experience so far?

Young adult participation can be tokenistic, but I always feel my opinion matters.

I’ve found it eye opening to learn about the different issues affecting young adults coming through in the reports from our partners.

But I feel there’s a huge gap between what’s being recommended and what’s being actually done. There are amazing recommendations to improve things for young adults, but no action is taken. I would really like to push for the recommendations to be implemented, and then for us to build on what comes out of that.

How do you include young adults in the work Leaders Unlocked do?

At Leaders Unlocked, we’ve been going into prisons to talk to the young people about their experiences and the current issue we’re seeing where young adults are remaining in the youth estate beyond their 18th birthday.

I can talk to them because I’ve been where they are, and I want to make a difference. I want their real life honest-to-God opinions. We do reports, but they’re collaborative. We want to help and work with young adults and prison officers too.

We created guides to introduce young men and women to the adult estate. We heard what young people were saying and worked together to make a guide. We made it with them and for them.

This also led us to develop training for prison officers to help them communicate more effectively with young adults.

How have you been involved in influencing policy and research?

I’ve been working with Gemma Buckland and UKABIF on a project examining acquired brain injury (ABI) and neurodiversity in young adults. What we’ve found from the Freedom of Information requests about practice in police custody suites is that only two out of 40 police force areas have extra help available for people with a brain injury and none have specific approaches to consider maturity in young adults.

Of the two that did, 39% of the young adults they assessed had ABI or another form of neurodiversity. That must mean there are many young adults going through the justice system with undiagnosed neurodiversity or ABI.

There are also young people out there with undiagnosed autism or ADHD who don’t have the support they need to participate in their trial or to fully understand the process.

You deserve the right to a fair trial, but how can you have a fair trial if you’ve not been diagnosed, and that information presented to the court?

We have co-created a poster to help young adults with brain injury to understand what options they have for support and advice when they are in contact with the criminal justice system.

How can HMPPS empower young adults with lived experience to take on roles in CJS policy and frontline practice? What would the benefits of this approach be?

Leaders Unlocked are incredible at doing this. We say: “Your experiences are your superpowers.”

HMPPS should open pathways for young adults to take on roles in the justice system. But it should be clear that you’re not there as a case study or to add a line to a report about what you’ve gone through. This isn’t tokenism.

The message has to be that your voice can be impactful. We value everything you’ve been through and the perspective that gives you. We want you to work for us because of all that you can bring to the table.

What would the benefits of this approach be?

Young adults who don’t trust those in authority roles won’t tell them what’s going on, but people with lived experience can make those connections. They can say: “Talk to me. I get it. I know you’re struggling. Let me help.”

The young people who are in and out of the justice system don’t see themselves in the people they’ve worked with.

I would love to see prison officers with lived experience who can add a level of depth to those interactions with young adults.

It would make the rehabilitation programmes and activities much more effective as the people delivering them understand what life in the justice system is like. They can be role models for young adults and show them what’s possible.

That is absolutely inspirational for the young adults who are in the system. They can see that things can change and get better because right there in front of them is someone who was in their shoes and is now thriving.

What I’ve been through in my life has meant that I can speak to people who’ve been in trouble, to inspire them to change things. Some of the young people I’ve met would never have thought about using their experiences in that way, but they’ve come to meetings because I’ve reached out. Now they want to change things. They’ve seen it in me. They want it for themselves.

Learn more about working effectively with young adults

Guides for practitioners

Young adults, aged 18-25, represent 10% of the UK population, but over 30% of all police cases[1].

One of the reasons behind this huge disparity is because there is a “cliff edge” in support when young adults turn 18 years of age and state support evaporates. Furthermore, emotional maturity and life experiences are not always sufficiently considered when young adults come into contact with the justice system.

Our T2A Alliance Partners, Revolving Doors, published an evidence review in 2021 which explored how tailored diversion schemes can increase maturity and reduce the likelihood of reoffending. The review pulled together the “key elements of support that can be provided as part of an out of court disposal that can turn young adults’ lives around”.

New approaches to diversion are being developed across the world, and last month we warmly welcomed a new report from the Emerging Adult Justice Project (EAJP) in the US. It set out 13 promising practices for the design and implementation of young adult diversion schemes.

Report authors, Noor Toraif and Lael Chester, believe that diversion should be the default approach for young adults and that cases where diversion is not pursued should be transparently reviewed on a regular basis. Lael Chester explains:

“Pre-arraignment diversion should be the default in every jurisdiction, and it should be tailored to the developmental stage. Most youth will desist from criminal behavior as they mature, and successful diversion can both support and accelerate this process. It’s a small investment for a big outcome that benefits us all.”

It’s incredibly positive to see organisations across the world affirming the fact that young adults are a distinct group with distinct needs. When we work together with young adults and listen to their experiences, we can get things right.

New Generation Campaigner Natasha expresses this better than we ever could:

“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.” (Foreword, Evidence review: diverting young adults away from the cycle of crisis and crime)

[1] Revolving Doors analysis based on Ministry of Justice. 2019, Criminal Justice System Statistics publication: Outcomes by Offence 2008 to 2018: Pivot Table Analytical Tool for England and Wales

Learn more about the young adult evidence base

Research and reports

Heather Abbey, T2A’s Embedding Manager, met with youth and young adult leads from HMPPS Wales to share insights on how exploitation affects young adults in the criminal justice system.

In the last few years, there has been a more dedicated focus on how exploitation and modern slavery affects people in the criminal justice system.

Guidance has been created to enable people working across the prison estate to identify and support victims, and efforts have been made to raise awareness of modern slavery among prisoners and HMPPS staff.

Heather Abbey recently ran a short session around exploitation and young adults at a HMPPS Wales meeting attended by youth and young adult leads.

“They were incredibly receptive, but a lot of the information I was sharing was quite new to some. The forms exploitation can take are incredibly varied and complex, so we’re still very much in the early stages of tackling this issue,” said Heather.

Raising awareness among HMMPS staff of why young adults are particularly vulnerable to exploitation is a crucial step towards prevention. Heather explains:

“Becoming an adult is a process, not an event – and children don’t suddenly become adults on their 18th birthday. Neuroscience tells us that young adults’ brains continue to mature into their mid-20s.

“There’s also a high prevalence of neurodiversity, adverse childhood experiences, trauma, learning needs and impaired mental health within this age group. And these factors mean young adults can become easy targets for those looking to exploit them.”

Despite the clear level of risk posed to young adults, they receive far fewer protections than child victims. They are often viewed as fully mature adults who are more culpable for their actions, but this overlooks the fact that young adults may be victims themselves or have a history of being exploited as a child.

When we consider a young adult’s experience and background, we have a better chance of identifying exploitation when it occurs. Heather was keen to explain the importance of this perception shift during her presentation.

“Some practitioners see young adults as offenders first who should take on the consequences of their actions. But we need a more nuanced approach to young people – one that allows us to recognise that those who commit crimes can be victims too. We need both the probation service and the prison estate to acknowledge the harm that’s been done to them.

“Ultimately, this will hugely benefit the young adult and reduce their likelihood of reoffending.”

During the open discussion after Heather’s presentation, attendees were keen to discuss the challenges faced when trying to identify exploitation.

“HMPPS staff are hugely stretched and aren’t always afforded the time needed to do in-depth assessments of complex cases. Knowledge sharing across different bodies can be patchy too – so a probation or prison officer might not be updated when a young person has been assessed as a victim of modern slavery through the National Referral Mechanism process.

“Recognising the signs of exploitation and identifying victims can be incredibly challenging, but it’s a crucial first step in getting people the support they need and are legally entitled to.”

All agreed that the workshop was a positive step towards ensuring vulnerable young adults get the protections they need. There were also encouraging discussions about how to use technology to help young adults recognise when they’re a victim of exploitation.

“Young adults struggle to identify themselves as victims of modern slavery – even when they’re being actively exploited. T2A is open to continuing the conversation with HMPPS and other voluntary sector experts in the area to create a framework which will enable practitioners to identify and support victims. These resources will be hugely valuable.”

“As I said, we’re very much at beginning of this journey, but I absolutely believe we’re moving in the right direction.”

Last month, we held a webinar to share the findings of our Young Adults and the Parole System report, which was co-authored by Rob Allen and Dr Laura Janes. You can watch a full recording of the online event below.

The event was attended by around 90 people working across the criminal justice system, including practitioners, policymakers, academics, and people working in the voluntary sector.

At the beginning of the webinar, Dr Laura Janes spoke to Ali, a young adult with experience of going through the parole process, and his probation officer. It was so valuable for everyone attending to hear his insights on what worked well, and what could be improved.

Ali really helped us start to think about the different ways young adults can be supported to be active participants in the parole process, and how they can be mindfully supported to become more mature and reduce risk-taking activities in advance of their case being heard.

Rob Allen and Dr Laura Janes then shared the report’s recommendations for HMPPS and the Parole Board. Andrea Bennett, Regional Probation Director for the North West and Operational Lead for working with Young Adults in the Probation Service, and Ronno Griffiths, Parole Board member, responded warmly to the recommendations and shared insights from their own professional experiences.

It remains to be seen if our partners at HMPPS and the Parole Board will be able to implement our recommendations when budgets and resources are stretched to capacity. However, all in attendance were united in their belief that young adults deserve a Parole process that can respond to their developmental needs.

Dr Rachel O’Rourke was our final speaker, and she spoke about how HMPPS Psychology Services were using the report to inform further research into the barriers preventing young adults from participating in the parole process – prompting a positive discussion about how this might lead to the more consistent use of psychological assessment tools for young adults.

We ended our session with a range of thoughtful questions from attendees for our panel of speakers, and we were very pleased to see that everyone who attended had been so engaged throughout the session.

T2A Criminal Justice Programme Manager, Laurie Hunte, adds: “These recommendations would change the parole process to the immense benefit of young adults, so we will do everything we can to ensure that they are implemented.

“Creative approaches like these will lead to more positive long-term outcomes.”

These conversations are just the beginning of an important journey towards a reformed parole process that will deliver better outcomes for young adults. We would encourage you to keep in touch with T2A to hear about next steps.

Want to learn more about our report on young adults and parole?

Read the full report

Three locations in the US are set to implement the Emerging Adult Justice Project’s (EAJP) Developmental Framework – a roadmap for a distinct approach to the needs of children and young adults.

Lael E.H. Chester, director of the EAJP, explains: “Schools consider youth development when designing services and programs, which is why kindergarteners are not taught calculus and college students are not taught to play games to learn shapes and colours.

“But our criminal legal system doesn’t, and typically treats an 18-year-old in pretty much the same way as a 40- or 50-year-old.”

The framework was developed by a diverse group of experts that included researchers, practitioners, policymakers, young people, and advocates. Its central principle is that youth and young adults should be empowered to fulfil their potential.

The Casey Foundation, which is funding the EAJP pilots, is dedicating half of its funds over the next decade to support the wellbeing, growth and development of youth and young adults as part of its Thrive by 25 commitment.

Here at T2A, we’re delighted to see such positive steps taken towards a justice system that gives special consideration to a young adult’s unique needs, strengths, and level of maturity.

Young adults with lived experience of the justice system are set to work closely with the EAJP sites in Nebraska, Massachusetts and Washington DC, to guide the implementation and running of the pilots.

The Development Framework’s central principle is that youth and young adults should be empowered to fulfil their potential.

The Nebraska Administrative Office of the Courts and Probation (AOCP) are using the developmental framework to radically rethink how probation can meet the needs of young adults. One of their most exciting plans is to develop specialist young adult probation officers who will receive additional training in areas such as trauma-informed care, diversity, and neurological development.

Laurie Hunte, T2A Criminal Justice Programme Manager, adds: “We warmly welcome the news that this pilot will have such a strong focus on supporting young adults to thrive.

“It’s also very positive to see that the voices and experiences of young adults are central to this project.”

Since the T2A programme began formally in 2008, we have worked tirelessly to build an evidence base and challenge the thinking of criminal justice policy makers that all young people become adults at 18. Neuroscience has proven that the reality is much more complex, so it is very encouraging to see international organisations take these innovative approaches to the rehabilitation of young adults.

We look forward to watching the development of these pilots to see how we can utilise the learnings to benefit young adults here in the UK and beyond.

Want to learn more about applying a distinct approach to the needs of young adults?

Read our reports

The co-authors of our Young Adults and the Parole System report, Rob Allen and Dr Laura Janes, share some insights into our scoping study and the parole landscape.

Sweeping Changes

The current Secretary of State for Justice has put the parole system at the heart of his reform agenda, introducing sweeping changes to both law and policy designed to “stop the release of dangerous offenders from prison”.

The changes have ranged from who may be referred to the Parole Board, to what professionals working for the Ministry of Justice can say to the Board in written and oral evidence. In the recent case of Bailey v SSJ the High Court said that one piece of guidance “may well have resulted in prisoners being released who would not otherwise have been released and in prisoners not being released who would otherwise have been released.” All the changes made by the current administration apply indiscriminately to anyone going through the process, regardless of age.

Young adults, currently defined by the Parole Board as 18- 21-year-olds, only make up around 2% of its overall case load. But data revealed in a new report on young adults and parole shows that there are some important differences in the characteristics of this cohort compared to older adults.

First, young adults are much more likely to appear before the Parole Board because they have been sent back to prison for alleged failures on supervision after automatic release from a standard sentence. The Board must then decide whether it’s safe to re-release them.

Last year 97% of all initial ‘paper reviews’ by the Parole Board of young adults were for recalls. Yet, across all age groups only 73% of cases concerned recalls.

A recent report by the Chief Inspector of Probation found that “most recalls to custody were caused by homelessness, a return to drug or alcohol misuse or a failure to ensure continuity of care pre and post release – not by re-offending”. Young adults can be particularly susceptible to being recalled given that their developing maturity may make it harder to comply with licence conditions.

Second, when young adults are considered in more depth and have a chance to explain themselves to the Parole Board at an oral hearing, they are much more likely to be released than older applicants. In 2022, 59% of all young adults were released following an oral hearing whereas the overall release rate for all reviews was one in four.

Last year 97% of all initial ‘paper reviews’ by the Parole Board of young adults were for recalls.

The T2A Alliance

In the 18 years since its Independent Commission published Lost in Transition, the Barrow Cadbury Trust has worked tirelessly to promote a more distinctive approach to young adults in the criminal justice system through the Transition to Adulthood (T2A) Alliance. This latest study looks at a relatively hidden corner of criminal justice that needs urgent attention.

It’s very welcome that existing Parole Board guidance says 18–21-year-olds should be presumed suitable for an oral hearing if they aren’t ‘released on the papers’, but the study suggests more should be done to enable release at the initial paper stage, or at least ensure oral hearings are convened as quickly as possible. Given the current pressures on prison places, it makes little sense to have young adults who are highly likely to be safe to release, recalled to prison, sometimes staying there for a year or more. The Chair of the Sentencing Council has recently encouraged the use of suspended sentences where appropriate in light of the high prison population.

The report also recommends that more should be done to ensure that young adults, many of whom have high levels of need, are able to effectively participate in the parole process with the support of legal representation. This could also go some way to counter the systemic discrimination that persists for minoritised groups in prison and which has still not been addressed five years on from the Lammy review. It will also assist the very few young adult women that come before the Board but require a specialised approach.

Young Adults

The T2A report also argues that the Parole Board should treat those up to 25 as young adults, which would not only reflect the latest research on brain development but bring practice into line with many other agencies. For example, thanks in part to the influence of work by the Howard League and T2A, courts now have to take account of the emotional and developmental age of an offender, and recognise that young people up to 25 are still developing neurologically.

Greater application of this evidence-based approach by both the Parole Board and HMPPS will bring parole more into line with other parts of the system. The report makes a number of simple recommendations such as making sure the Board asks for the right kind of information before reaching a decision. For example, when a young person has been in care, the Board should have information from social services. The Board should also interpret the test for release which it must apply in the light of what’s known about how young people mature, and how their risks of causing harm can be managed and reduced. The report recommends that the prison service gives young adults better access to the programmes, relationships and assistance which can help them prepare for a successful release.

Probation

Probation is also encouraged to provide more individualised support for young adults on licence in the community, but which does not overload them with complex requirements or impose conditions all but impossible to meet. The report finds mixed views about whether young adults are recalled too much but recommends this should be kept under close review, along with safeguards to prevent them going back to prison unnecessarily.

Given the relatively small number of young adults going through the parole process, and the obvious benefits to reform, it is hoped that these recommendations will be both feasible and welcomed.

Young Adults and the Parole System

Want to learn more?

Read the report

Chair of the T2A Alliance Leroy Logan MBE reflects on the lack of progress on the Lammy Review recommendations and what this means for young Black and minority ethnic adults.

Last week, the Prison Reform Trust published an update on the progress of the Lammy Review’s prison recommendations. Commenting, Peter Dawson, director of the Prison Reform Trust said:

“More than five years on since David Lammy’s review revealed the shocking extent of racial disproportionality in our criminal justice system, our report shows that many of the issues he identified remain stubbornly persistent.”

Of course, I welcome the transparency that this analysis brings. However, as someone who has worked tirelessly throughout my career to create a fairer criminal justice system, I am bitterly disappointed by the government’s lack of progress on its commitments.

In his 2018 Perrie Lecture, David Lammy said:

“You cannot be in the criminal justice business and not be in the race business.”

And one cannot support children and young adults in the criminal justice system without being uncomfortably aware of the deep-seated racial disparities that exist. According to the Ministry of Justice’s statistics, over 40% of 18-24 year olds in custody are young Black and minority ethnic adults.

That’s why the work of T2A is hugely important. Together with the T2A Alliance members, we’re doing all we can to ensure that every young adult in the criminal justice system gets the support they need, based on their ongoing maturity and not simply on their chronological age.

We often speak to practitioners across HMPPS who want to do more to support young Black and minority ethnic adults, so we must continue to create accessible resources and tools that enable them to do so.

According to the Ministry of Justice’s statistics, over 40% of 18-24 year olds in custody are young Black and minority ethnic adults.

Training materials should cover everything from understanding how to talk about race and increasing cultural awareness, to learning more about implicit bias and discrimination. Listening to Black and minority ethnic organisations and the young adult they support will ensure these materials are grounded in lived experience. Spark Inside’s recent #BeingWellBeingEqual report highlighted the importance of this approach, and how promoting young Black men’s wellbeing can help them unlock their full potential.

Learning how to support young adults to move from a pro-offending to pro-social identity will also be crucial. With a stronger insight into how identity and trauma inform behaviour, staff will be able to develop more positive relationships with the young Black and minority ethnic adults in their care.

I know that the scale of the challenges we face may feel insurmountable at times. Many people, myself included, are rightly disappointed that so little has changed since David Lammy’s landmark review five years ago.

But we must not let this deter us. We must harness this energy and relentlessly focus on the work ahead of us. And if you’re feeling a tad cynical, which is completely understandable, I invite you to delve into the power of optimism.

Want to learn more about how to support young adults in the justice system?

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