“They really should start listening to you”: the benefits and challenges of co-producing a participatory framework of youth justice practice

Smithson, Hannah, Gray, Paul ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1546-9333 and Jones, Anna (2021) “They really should start listening to you”: the benefits and challenges of co-producing a participatory framework of youth justice practice. Youth Justice: an international journal, 21 (3). pp. 321-337. ISSN 1473-2254

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Abstract

This paper presents the findings from a pioneering project between a university and 10 regional youth justice services. The project resulted in the co-production, with young people, of a framework of principles termed ‘Participatory Youth Practice’ (PYP). The benefits and challenges of producing PYP are discussed. We argue that the framework - grounded in Article 12 of the UNCRC and ‘child first, offender second’ principles - is a formative step in the process of creating a youth justice system that respects and acknowledges children and young people’s rights, and enables them to meaningfully participate in decision-making processes.