Citation

Young S, Greer B, Church R. BJPsych Bull 2017; 41(1): 21-29.

Affiliation

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Royal College of Psychiatrists)

DOI

10.1192/pb.bp.115.052274

PMID

28184313

PMCID

PMC5288089

Abstract

This review considers juvenile delinquency and justice from an international perspective. Youth crime is a growing concern. Many young offenders are also victims with complex needs, leading to a public health approach that requires a balance of welfare and justice models. However, around the world there are variable and inadequate legal frameworks and a lack of a specialist workforce. The UK and other high-income countries worldwide have established forensic child and adolescent psychiatry, a multifaceted discipline incorporating legal, psychiatric and developmental fields. Its adoption of an evidence-based therapeutic intervention philosophy has been associated with greater reductions in recidivism compared with punitive approaches prevalent in some countries worldwide, and it is therefore a superior approach to dealing with the problem of juvenile delinquency.

Language: en