CBA Lecture: Disclosure of childhood criminal records in England and Wales: imposing enduring criminal responsibility for childhood behaviours

Thursday 15th February
18.00 – 19.00
Online

Introduction: Paul Jarvis (6KBW College Hill ) – CBA Education Joint Chair.

Speaker:  Professor Ray Arthur

Disclosure of childhood criminal records in England and Wales: imposing enduring criminal responsibility for childhood behaviours

Disclosure of records of childhood behaviours can have serious effects disproportionate to the seriousness of the offending behaviour. Disclosure of records of childhood offending can impede rehabilitation, increase future interactions with the criminal justice system and impact upon job prospects which may limit the child’s future aspirations and ability to participate in society.

This paper will examine the excessively and oppressively stigmatising approach to youth criminal records in England and Wales which points to a youth justice system that continues to focus upon the imposition of enduring criminal responsibility. There is a rich body of literature on the ‘collateral consequences’ of criminal records, however the subject of criminal records disclosure has rarely been considered as a children’s rights issues. This paper will argue that there needs to be a closer alignment between the regulation of the disclosure of childhood criminal records and international children’s rights instruments if the Youth Justice Board’s commitment to the development of a youth justice system in England and Wales that is ‘Child First’ is to be realised.

Professor Ray Arthur specialises in researching children’s right to self-determination in justice settings and developing a deeper understanding of the experiences of vulnerable young people. I work with hard-to-reach, and previously under-researched, populations of children to co-design research projects that examine the child’s own experiences of navigating legal processes and systems. I have published a substantial body of excellent publications including 3 research monographs published by Routledge as well as over 40 substantial peer-reviewed journal articles in pre-eminent journals.

This lecture will be recorded with the access link circulated at 14.00hrs on the day of the talk (15th February).