A Decade of Juvenile Justice
| Date | 01 May 1981 |
| Author | Norman Tutt |
| Published date | 01 May 1981 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002201838104500205 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
A
decade
of
juvenile
justice
Professor Norman
Tutt"
The Children and Young Persons Act (1969) must rank as one of the
most disputed pieces of minor legislation passed within the last two de-
cades. The original legislation was only passed after almost a decade of
heated debate which culminated in many of the major reformist sections
of the Act being rejected by the government of the day, and thereby
changing many of the expectations generated by the White Papers
which preceded the Act. Almost immediately after its implemen-
tation in January 1971, the Act became the focus of a concerted attack
both within and outside of Parliament. This attack, which was bothper-
sistant and successfulthroughout the decade of the seventies, was never
based on evidence of the actual operation of the Act,
but
on myths and
fantasy linked with the wider public concern for "law and order".
This article willbriefly examine the background of the Act, and more
thoroughly examine the validity of persistent criticisms in the light
of a growing body of information on the Act's operation. In 1960 the
main legislation governing state control of juvenile offending was the
Children and Young Persons Act (1933) which not only empowered
justices to create a panel from amongst their number to sit in the juve-
nile courts, but also created the system of "approved" schools from
the former "Industrial and Reform" schools. Both of these moves were
aimed at the same end: to establish clearly and unequivocally that wel-
fare was to be the principal consideration in dealingwith juveniles. This
prime consideration remained unchanged until the early sixties, the
Children Act (1948) made major reforms in the structure of local
*Department of Social Administration, Fylde College, University of
Lancaster, Lancaster LA I 4YF.
107
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