This project will investigate racial disparities in diversion from the youth justice system (YJS). Children from minority ethnic backgrounds are overrepresented in the YJS. This is partly explained by decisions about whether children who come to police attention are diverted through informal measures, or receive formal outcomes (charge or caution).

The number of children entering the YJS has reduced significantly in recent years. This has been supported by the adoption of the ‘Child First’ approach by the Youth Justice Board (YJB). ‘Child First’ seeks to prevent the unnecessary criminalisation of children by taking a more progressive and inclusive approach to youth justice. This includes an emphasis on diversion from prosecution. However, the number of children from minority ethnic backgrounds entering the YJS has decreased less than the number of white children entering the YJS. More research is needed to explain the decisions driving racial disparities, why those decisions are made, and who makes the decisions.

This mixed methods study will examine decision-making at the gateway to the YJS (initial contact with the police, including arrest). The aim of the research is to:

• Identify the extent and nature of racial disproportionality at the gateway to the YJS and illuminate factors that explain it.
• Produce recommendations for policy and practice, highlighting how decision-making would need to change to reduce racial disproportionality.

Methods include a literature review; a survey of 154 Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) in England and Wales; and a detailed quantitative analysis in five case study sites and interviews with influential practitioners.

Project team: Dr Tim Bateman (Principal Investigator); Professor John Pitts; Dr Isabelle Brodie; Dr Anne-Marie Day (Keele University); Dr Timi Osidipe; Mr Joseph Kiff.

Further information about the project can be found on the Nuffield Foundation website at: Exploring racial disparity in diversion from the youth justice system - Nuffield Foundation

Race’, disproportionality and diversion from the youth justice system: A review of the literature

Tim Bateman, Isabelle Brodie, Anne-Marie Day, John Pitts and Timi Osidipe

Introduction

This is a narrative review of the literature relevant to understanding the relationship between ethnicity, disproportionality and diversion of children from the youth justice system. The review is part of wider research project, funded by the Nuffield Foundation and undertaken by the University of Bedfordshire and Keele University, exploring ethnic disparities at the gateway to the youth justice system and the impact of increased use of diversionary mechanisms in that context. Further information on the wider project is available on the Nuffield Foundation website at: Exploring racial disparity in diversion from the youth justice system - Nuffield Foundation

Read/Download the final literature review [PDF]

Read/Download the executive summary [PDF]