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Abstract
Most evaluations carry both good and bad news for policymakers. One of the most encouraging findings from recent studies of custodial disposals for juveniles has been the positive attitudes of offenders as they leave the institutions to start the second half of their sentences. As they start their statutory period of post-custody supervision, the majority of young people have seemed determined to start afresh, to work with their supervising officer to sort out their offending behaviour and wider problems. The evaluation of the Detention and Training Order (DTO) which covers almost all custodial sentences for under 18s, showed that three-quarters of supervising officers considered their trainees to be more co-operative upon release than before custody (Hazel etal. 2002). Without debating the merits and dangers of custody, this seems to present a unique opportunity for positive intervention with young people who have often been closed to such help for many years.