This article presents the findings of a post-custody study undertaken on behalf of the Children’s Society (a major NGO in England) which was part of the larger Just Justice programme that charted the experiences of young black people in the youth justice system in England and Wales (Wilson and Rees, 2006). It attempts to link the participants’ law-breaking behaviour to the structures of inequality within which they live their lives. Whilst the findings evidence the inappropriateness of penal custody for these young people, the data also offer the prospect of more positive outcomes in the future
Back, L. (2004) ‘Writing in and Against Time’, in M. Bulmer and J. Solomos (eds) Researching Race and Racism, pp. 203-213. London: Routledge .
2.
Bazemore, G. (2001) ‘Young People, Trouble and Crime: Restorative Justice as a Normative Theory of Informal Social Control and Support’ , Youth and Society33(2): 199-226 .
3.
Beaumont, B. (2000), ‘Black Young People in a Local Criminal Justice System’, unpublished report. London: The Children’s Society .
4.
Bourgois, P. (2003) In Search of Respect: Selling Crack in El Barrio. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press .
5.
Brewer, J. D. (2000) Ethnography. Buckingham: Open University Press .
6.
Cook, D. and Hudson, B. (1993) Racism and Criminology. London: Sage .
7.
Essed, Philomena , (2004) ‘Naming the Unnameable: Sense and Sensibilities in Researching Racism’, in M. Bulmer and J. Solomos (eds) Researching Race and Racism, pp. 119-133. London: Routledge .
8.
Fine, M. and Weis, L. (1998) ‘Crime Stories: A Critical Look Through Race, Ethnicity and Gender , Qualitative Studies in Education1(3): 435-459 .
9.
Goldson, B. (2002a) Vulnerable Inside: Children in Secure and Penal Settings. London: The Children’s Society .
10.
Goldson, B. (2002b) ‘New Punitiveness: The Politics of Child Incarceration’, in J. Muncie , G. Hughes and E. McLaughlin (eds) Youth Justice: Critical Readings, pp. 386-400. London: Sage .
11.
Harvey, L. (1990) Critical Social Research. London: Unwin Hyman .
12.
Hill, A. (2005) ‘I was Promoting Racism by Making the N-word Cool’ , in The Observer, 2 October.
13.
Hillyard, P. , Sim, J. , Tombs, S. and Whyte, D. (2003) ‘Leaving a “Stain Upon the Silence”: Critical Criminology and The Politics of Dissent’ . Paper presented at ‘Tough on Crime’... Tough on Freedoms: From Community to Global Interventions’ conference, Chester, April.
14.
Home Office Community Cohesion Unit (2003) ‘Community Cohesion: A Report of the Independent Review Team’, chaired by Ted Cantle. URL (consulted June 2005): http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk
15.
Hussain, Y. and Bagguley, P. (2005) ‘Citizenship, Ethnicity and Identity: British Pakistanis after the 2001 “Riots’”Sociology39(3): 407-425 .
16.
James, A. (2001), ‘Ethnography in the Study of Children and Childhood’, in P. Atkinson , A. Coffey , S. Delamont , J. Lofland and L. Lofland (eds), Handbook of Ethnography, pp. 246-257. London: Sage .
17.
Lloyd, A. (1995) Doubly Deviant Doubly Damned: Society’s Treatment of Violent Women. London: Penguin .
18.
MacPherson, Lord (1999) The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry. Cm 4262-1, London: The Stationery Office .
19.
Malik, K. (1996) The Meaning of Race: Race, History and Culture in Western Society. London: Macmillan .
20.
Muncie, J. (2004) (2nd edn) Youth and Crime: A Critical Introduction. London: Sage .
21.
Nacro (2002) Youth Crime Briefing 2002: Some Facts About Young People Who Offend. URL (consulted June 2005): http://www.nacro.org
22.
Nellis, M. (2002) ‘Community Justice, Time and the New National Probation Service’ , The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice42(1): 59-86 .
23.
Ofutu, J. (2006) “‘Acting Strangely”: Young Black People and the Youth Justice System’, in D. Wilson and G. Rees (eds) Just Justice: A Study into Black Young People’s Experiences of the Youth Justice System. London: Children’s Society and University of Central England (CD-Rom ).
24.
Sharp, D. (2005) Just Justice: Serve and Protect? Black Young People’s Experiences of Policing in the Community. London: The Children’s Society .
25.
Song, M. (2004) ‘Racial Hierarchies in the US and Britain’ in M. Bulmer and J. Solomos (eds) Researching Race and Racism, pp. 172-186. London: Routledge .
26.
Vera, A. and Feagin, J. R. (2004) ‘The Study of Racist Events’ in M. Bulmer and J. Solomos (eds) Researching Race and Racism, pp. 66-77. London: Routledge .
27.
Wacquant, L. (2001) ‘Deadly Symbiosis: When Ghetto and Prison Meet and Mesh’ , Punishment and Society3(1): 95-134
28.
White, R. (2001) ‘Restorative Community Justice: Community Building Approaches in Juvenile Justice’ , paper presented at the 4th National Outlook Symposium on Crime in Australia, ‘New Crimes or New Responses’, Canberra, June.
29.
Wilson, D. (2004) ‘Keeping Quiet or Going Nuts: Strategies used by Young Black Men in Custody’Howard Journal of Criminal Justice43(3): 317-330 .
30.
Wilson, D. (2006) ‘Just Justice: An Ethnographic Study of the Experiences of Young Black People and the Youth Justice System’, final report. London: The Children’s Society and The University of Central England .
31.
Wilson, D. and Moore, S. (2003) ‘Playing the Game’- The Experiences of Young Black Men in Custody. London: The Children’s Society .
32.
Wilson, D. and Rees, G. (2006) (eds) Just Justice: A Study into Black Young People’s Experiences of the Youth Justice System. London: The Children’s Society and University of Central England (CD-Rom).
33.
Wright, G. and Hill, J. (2004) ‘Victims, Crime and Criminal Justice’, in J. Muncie and D. Wilson (eds) The Student Handbook of Criminal Justice and Criminology, pp. 105-121. London: Cavendish .
34.
Young, L. (2004) ‘Imperial Culture’, in M. Bulmer and J. Solomos (eds) Researching Race and Racism. London: Routledge .
