Identify the political and social forces which led to the establishment of a separate system of juvenile justice in the UK in 1908?

Assessment task 1: (worth 40% of total marks)

Produce a literature review of between 1500 and 2000 words on any area / question within the field of youth justice studies. The topic area will be agreed on an individual basis with the tutor. It is the responsibility of the student to suggest a topic area and to confirm with the unit coordinator that it is acceptable.

The review should demonstrate an ability to:

Research the major relevant sources for the chosen topic area

• Present an analysis of the principal findings of the literature in the chosen topic area
• Critically interrogate the literature to demonstrate consistencies, tensions or contradictions
• Provide an analysis of the gaps in the evidence base in relation to the chosen topic
• Critically evaluate the literature to arrive at a reasoned conclusion as to how the evidence should be interpreted, indicating areas for further research if appropriate.

Assessment task 2 (worth 60% of total marks)

Assessment 2: Produce an essay of 2,500 words (plus or minus 10%) chosen from the list of titles below, focussed on conducting an analysis of contemporary or historical arrangements within a given jurisdiction and their implications for wider society.

Please note: The essay title chosen should be on a different topic to the literature review conducted for assignment 1

The deadline for submission of assignment 2 is Monday 20 May 2019 at 10.00am

Essay titles:

• Identify the political and social forces which led to the establishment of a separate system of juvenile justice in the UK in 1908?

• How should we best understand shifts from welfare to justice in England and Wales over the past 100 years?

• What factors are relevant to determining the age of criminal responsibility? Discuss the relevance of such factors to England and Wales

• Should we leave the kids alone as Edwin Schur suggests?

• To what extent does what David Garland refers to as a ‘culture of control’ determine contemporary responses to youth crime?

• To what extent and in what ways is netwidening a problem for youth justice systems?

• ‘Responses to children in trouble are marked by a failure to take account of gender’ Discuss

• If we control for age, social class, and income, education and housing there is no over-representation of black young people in the youth justice system. Discuss

• To what extent is the level of custody determined by the level of youth crime?

• In what ways would the youth justice system in England and Wales need to change to be consistent with a children’s rights based agenda?

• Why do reoffending rates remain so high for children leaving custody? Does this imply resettlement is failing?

• Is the number of first time entrants to the youth justice system a good indicator of youth crime? Discuss your answer with reference to recent trends and provide an overview of how such trends might be explained