Report claims penal policy boosts crime

Current sentencing policy for young offenders could be
exacerbating, rather than reducing, the crime rate, a new report
states.

A Period of Transition, published by offender rehabilitation
charity Nacro, suggests that young offenders between the ages of 18
and 24 should be spared time in prison to allow them to mature and
stop committing crime as part of the process of growing up.

The study suggests that nearly half of those who are persistent
offenders at 18 have stopped committing crime by their
mid-twenties. But the report suggests that a period of imprisonment
“disrupts and retards the process of growing up” and prevents young
offenders from developing “responsive and responsible”
attitudes.

Report author Marcus Roberts said: “A persistent young adult
offender is not a permanent young adult offender. Most grow up to
become law abiding adults. We should be nurturing this process by
helping them take responsibility for their lives.”

His report argued that the majority of minor offenders should be
given non-custodial sentences. Nacro has also called for the
government to focus on tackling the social exclusion and poverty of
young offenders.

A Period of Transition from 020 7840 6427.