Abstract
There are many different perceptions of social justice. To underpin youth justice with ideals of social justice, one must be chosen and applied in a consistent way. John Rawls’ theory of justice as fairness is the most appropriate form of social justice to achieve this. Justice as fairness utilises principles to underpin the creation of a society that treats all citizens in a just manner. Whilst this has been criticised as unrealistic and impractical, justice as fairness could be applied to individual institutions. Youth justice has been restructured or redeveloped numerous times, and is likely entering another period of change. Utilising Rawls’ theory would allow for the organisational structure of youth justice to be based upon clear principles which would guide practice, inform working culture, and create a clear aim and approach for work within youth justice. This chapter outlines Rawls’ theory, develops principles specific to youth justice, and considers what a “fair” youth justice system would be like. Other approaches to social justice are considered, but justice as fairness is the most appropriate way to balance social and criminal justice within youth justice.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Banks, S. (2003). Ethics, accountability and the social professions. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Bateman, T. (2010). Reoffending as a measure of effectiveness of youth justice intervention: A critical note. Safer Communities, 9(3), 28–35.
Bateman, T. (2011). ‘We now breach more kids in a week than we used to in a whole year’: The Punitive Turn, enforcement and custody. Youth Justice, 11(2), 18.
Blyth, M., Solomon, E., & Baker, K. (2007). Young people and ‘risk’. Bristol: Policy Press.
Bottoms, A., & Dignan, J. (2004). Youth justice in great Britain. Crime and Justice, University of Chicago Press, 31(1), 21–183.
Boudon, R. (1973). Education, opportunity, and social inequality: Changing prospects in western society. New York: Wiley-Interscience.
Braithwaite, J. (2013). Inequality, crime and public policy (Routledge revivals). Oxon: Taylor and Francis.
Briggs, D. B. (2013). Conceptualising risk and need: The rise of actuarialism and the death of welfare? Practitioner assessment and intervention in the youth offending service. Youth Justice, Sage: London, England, 13(1), 17–30.
Case, S. (2006). Young people ‘At risk’ of what? Challenging risk-FOCUSED early intervention as crime prevention. Youth Justice, 6(3), 171–179.
Case, S., & Haines K. (2014). Children first, offenders second positive promotion: Reframing the prevention debate. Youth Justice, Sage, 15(3), 226–239.
Case, S., & Haines, K. (2015). Positive youth justice: Children first, offenders second. London: Policy Press.
Cavadino, M., & Dignan, J. (2005). Penal systems: A comparative approach. London: Sage.
Cavadino, M., & Dignan, J. (2006). Penal systems: A comparative approach. London: Sage.
Cavadino, M., & Dignan, J. (2007). The penal system: An introduction. London: Sage.
Commission for Social Justice. (1994). Social Justice: Strategies for national renewal. London: Vintage.
Cook, D. (2006). Criminal and social justice. London: Sage.
Creaney, S. (2012). Targeting, labelling and stigma: Challenging the criminalisation of children and young people. Criminal Justice Matters, 89(1), 16–17.
Crossley, A. (2012). Rules of engagement: Changing the heart of youth justice. London: Centre for Social Justice.
Daniels, N. (1975). Reading rawls: Critical studies on Rawls’ ‘A theory of justice. Oxford: Blackwell.
Disraeli, B. (1882). In: Respectfully quoted: A dictionary of quotations (2010). New York: Courier Corporation.
Downes, D., & Hansen, K. (2006). The relationship between welfare spending and imprisonment. Welfare and Punishment, 2, 1–8.
Drakulich, K. M., & Kirk, E. M. (2016). Public opinion and criminal justice reform. Criminology & Public Policy, Willan, 15(1), 171–177.
Goldson, B. (2000). The new youth justice. Dorset: Russell House.
Goldson, B., & Hughes, G. (2010). Sociological criminology and youth justice: Comparative policy analysis and academic intervention. Criminology and Criminal Justice, 10(2), 211–230.
Gray, P. (2013). Assemblages of penal governance, social justice and youth justice partnerships. Theoretical Criminology, 17(4), 517–534.
Haines, A., Goldson, B., Haycox, A., et al. (2012). Evaluation of the youth justice liaison and diversion (yjld) pilot scheme final report. London: Department of Health.
Haines, K., Case, S., Davies, K., et al. (2013). The Swansea Bureau: A model of diversion from the Youth Justice System. International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice, 41(2), 167–187.
Harrington, R., Bailey, S., Chitsabesan, P., et al. (2005). Mental health needs and effectiveness of provision for young offenders in custody and in the community. London: Youth Justice Board.
Hine, J. (2004). Children and citizenship. London: Home Office.
Hough, M., & Roberts, J. V. (2004). Youth crime and youth justice: Public opinion in England and Wales. Bristol: The Policy Press.
Kukathas, C., & Pettit, P. (1990). Rawls: A theory of justice and its critics. Key contemporary thinkers. Cambridge: Polity.
Law, J., McCann, D., O’May, F., et al. (2009). Service provision for children and young people with complex needs in a community setting from the perspectives of nursing and allied health professionals. Edinburgh: Scottish Government Social Research.
Lovett, F. (2011). Rawls’s ‘A theory of justice’: A reader’s guide. London: Continuum.
Mallett, C. A., Stoddard-Dare, P., & Seck, M. M. (2011). Explicating correlates of juvenile offender detention length: The impact of race, mental health difficulties, maltreatment, offense type, and court dispositions. Youth Justice, 11(2), 134–149.
Manders, G. (2015). Moral conversations and askesis as tools for change within youth justice. Safer Communities, 14(2), 69–79.
McAra, L., & McVie, S. (2007). Youth justice? The impact of system contact on patterns of desistance from offending. European Journal of Criminology, 4(3), 315–345.
McGee, T. R., & Farrington, D. P. (2015). Developmental and life-course theories of crime. In The handbook of criminological theory (S. 336–354). Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
McVey, M. (2016). Re-engaging disconnected youth: Transformative learning through restorative and social justice education. International Review of Education, Springer Netherlands, 62(5), 647–649.
McVie, S. (2005). Patterns of deviance underlying the age-crime curve: The long term evidence. British Society of Criminology e-Journal, 7, 1–15.
Mill, J. S. (1863). Utilitarianism, liberty and representative government. London: Dutton.
Muncie, J. (2008). The `punitive turn’ in Juvenile justice: Cultures of control and rights compliance in western europe and the USA. Youth Justice, 8(2), 107–121.
Myers, D. M., & Farrell, A. F. (2008). Reclaiming lost opportunities: Applying public health models in juvenile justice. Children and Youth Services Review, 30(10), 1159–1177.
Nozick, R. (1993). The nature of rationality. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Overbeck, H. (2002). Restructuring hegemony in the global political economy: The rise of transnational neo-liberalism in the 1980s. London: Routledge.
Paylor, I. (2011). Youth justice in England and Wales: A risky business. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 50(4), 221–233.
Pelton, L. H. (2001). Social justice and social work. Journal of Social Work Education., Sage/Learning Matters, 37, 433–439.
Pitts, J. (2001). Korrectional karaoke: New labour and the zombification of youth justice. Youth Justice, 1(2), 3–16.
Plato. (380AD). The republic. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Rawls, J. (1971). A theory of justice. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Rawls, J. (2007). Justice as fairness: Political not metaphysical justice as fairness: Political not metaphysical. Philosophy and Public Affairs, 14(3), 223–251.
Rawls, J., & Freeman, S. R. (1999). Collected papers. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Rawls, J., & Kelly, E. (2001). Justice as fairness: A restatement. Cambridge: Belknap Press.
Rawls, J., & Ward, T. (1985). Justice as fairness: political not metaphysical. Philosophy and Public Affairs, 14(3), 223–251.
Redlich, A. D. (2007). Double jeopardy in the interrogation room for youths with mental illness. The American Psychologist, 62(6), 609–611.
Rothbard, M. (1982). The ethics of liberty. Atlantic Highlands: Humanities Press.
Sandel, M. (2010). Justice: What’s the right thing to do? New York: Penguin.
Souhami, A. (2009). Transforming youth justice. London: Routledge.
Taylor, C. (2016). Review of the youth justice system in England and Wales. London: Ministry of Justice.
Van Soest, D. (1994). Strange bedfellows: A call for reordering national priorities from three social justice perspectives. Social Work, 39(6), 710–717.
Wacquant, L. (2001). The penalisation of poverty and the rise of neo-liberalism. European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 9(4), 401–412.
Webster, C. (2006). Predicting criminality? Risk factors, neighbourhood influence and desistance. Youth Justice, 6(1), 7–22.
Williamson, J. G. (2013). Did British capitalism breed inequality? London: Routledge.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Urwin, J. (2018). Rawls’ Role in Improving Structures. In: A Return to Social Justice. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73043-1_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73043-1_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-73042-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-73043-1
eBook Packages: Law and CriminologyLaw and Criminology (R0)