There are two major approaches to youth justice. These are the justice model and the welfare approach. The justice model follows the notion that the punishment given out for a crime should be proportionate to the crime committed. The welfare approach is a care based approach and concentrates on factors, which lead a young person to commit crime. It mainly focuses on the offender's needs, rather than the punishment for the crime and it deals with eliminating those needy problems. This essay will describe both of these approaches, their features, their application in the juvenile justice system and lastly suggesting the best approach to deal with youth crime.
Hudson (1987) suggests that the increasing popularity of the Justice model is because it appears to offer all things to all people. He states that it offers consistent sentencing and strict punitive justice over the discretion of the welfare approach. Also, this model provides with many alternatives to custody and offers to imprison only the most serious of offenders.
There was a clear cut example of the justice model being applied in the years from 1908 to 1933 in punishing youth offenders. Specialised centres for the detention of young people were set up. The first was in Borstal, Kent and it brought about the "Borstal Philosophy," which involved giving discipline and work training. In 1933, the Children and Young persons Act made provisions for education and training of young offenders and also extended the jurisdiction of the juvenile court to 17 year olds. (McKechnie, Jim and Sandy Hobbs. 2001. "Work and Education. Pg.9-23 in Hidden Hands).