Routes out of crime for young adults - Guardian Letters

For too long the state has in effect abandoned some of the most vulnerable people in our society, contributing to the creation of a young adult underclass.

We need to radically rethink the way young adults from difficult backgrounds are supported in order to offer them viable routes out of poverty and crime, and into productive lives. Better prevention, more creative community sentences and more constructive help within prison and after release are among our proposals. The alternative is a continuing rise in those who feel left out of mainstream society and a parallel increase in crime and antisocial behaviour. A New Start: Young Adults and the Criminal Justice System offers new thinking in an area of policy suffering from a chronic lack of creativity by all of the main political parties. It is important that they take note.

Clive Martin Clinks, Juliet Lyon Prison Reform Trust, Frances Crook Howard League for Penal Reform, Paul Cavadino Nacro, Richard Garside Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, Jon Collins Criminal Justice Alliance, Dominic Williamson Revolving Doors, William Butler Addaction, Debi Roker & Kevin Lowe Young People in Focus, Shan Nicholas Barrow Cadbury Trust, Rob Allen International Centre for Prison Studies, Geoff Mulgan Young Foundation, Joyce Moseley Catch 22