Locality, legitimacy and the limits of diversion: Reviewing youth justice in Jersey

This article is based on the authors’ involvement
in two reviews of Jersey’s youth justice system, carried out in 2010 and 2018. The reviews provide fresh
insights into the process of moving towards a child-first,
rights-informed youth justice system; the potential of
traditional community justice to be used as a vehicle for
diversion, particularly when such culturally embedded
practices enjoy public support; and the need to adapt
strategies to the limitations of local conditions and
resources in order to ensure feasibility. These findings
support and amplify the conclusions of recent research
on how localities can shape youth justice.