Abstract
Every year many hundreds of thousands of young adults (16 to 24 year olds) in England and Wales are processed by one or more agencies of the criminal justice system. This activity, justified on the grounds of its putative crime fighting and crime prevention efficacy, causes enormous harm to the lives of one of the most vulnerable groups in society. It tends to entrench rather than resolve the disadvantage, distress and trauma experienced by many young adults, while doing little if anything to make society safer or crime less prevalent. As the 2005 report from the Barrow Cadbury Trust, Lost in Transition, puts it:
Acknowledgements
The two briefings on young adults in transition by Professor Danny Dorling and Richard Garside will be available for download later this year from the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies website (www.crimeandjustice.org.uk). The Centre would like to thank the Barrow Cadbury Trust for supporting the production of the two briefings. Danny and Richard would also like to thank Melinda Kerrison for the additional research she contributed.