Comparative Youth Justice: Critical Issues

Comparative Youth Justice is the first book to critically reflect on contemporary juvenile justice reform in England and Wales and across various other western jurisdictions including the US, Canada, France, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia, Belgium, Scotland, Japan, Italy and Finland. In doing so, it identifies major international differences in juvenile policy and practice. However, Contemporary Youth Justice is not simply an attempt to document national similarities and differences, but looks critically at how global trends are translated at the local level. This book also examines how youth justice is implemented in practice with a view to promoting change as well as reflection.

Each chapter addresses key critical issues including the degree of compliance with international law; the extent of repenalistion; adulteration; tolerance; and the impact of experiments in restoration and risk management.

John Muncie and Barry Goldson are leading authorities in this area and have commissioned an impressive list of internationally recognized contributors. The book is essential reading for all those interested in youth justice and comparative criminal justice issues.

This book is designed as a companion volume to Youth Crime and Justice: Critical Issues, edited by Barry Goldson and John Muncie, published simultaneously by SAGE.

John Muncie is Emeritus Professor of Criminology at the Open University, UK. He is the author of Youth and Crime (5th edition, Sage, 2021), and he has published widely on issues in comparative youth justice and children’s rights, including the co-edited companion volumes Youth Crime and Justice and Comparative Youth Justice (Sage, 2006). He has produced numerous Open University texts and readers, including Crime: Local and Global (Willan, 2010), Criminal Justice: Local and Global (Willan, 2010), The Problem of Crime (2nd edition, Sage, 2001), Crime Prevention and Community Safety (Sage, 2001) and Imprisonment: European Perspectives (Harvester, 1991). He has also contributed nine volumes to the The Sage Library of Criminology (Sage, 2007–2009). He is co-editor of the Sage journal Youth Justice: An International Journal.