In 2006 and 2007 I worked on a community drama project with young offenders from Wessex (Hampshire & the Isle of Wight to you and I). It was the culmination of my degree course and proved to me that the creative arts has a clear role to play in providing a voice for those who would otherwise not be heard. In a society that continues to demonise our youth but which does not really understand why young people get in trouble, I had my eyes opened in a way that no report or even TV documentary could manage.
Working under the title “How did I end up in here?” we explored the young offenders’ journeys into and through the youth justice system. There was so much to learn it was daunting. However if I could wave a magic wand and make three policy changes I think we could transform the lives of these people and the communities in which they live, as follows:
- Provide a positive male role model for those who do not have one
- Find a way to keep these children in school; offending accelerates exponentially after school exclusion
- Find a way of addressing bad behaviour in under 14s without criminalising them
On a wider point I believe we need to do much more within the youth justice system to resolve criminal behaviour while it is still relatively young. The good news is that most children who have a brush with the system are never seen again by the authorities. The deeply depressing news is that the greater majority of young offenders in youth prison can look forward to a life of further offending and potentially at least one spell in adult prison.
If you would like to read more we produced a report in April 2007.
Read more (PDF) >>If you are more interested in the process of making drama in this community you might be interested in a critique I wrote, which describes my experiences as a student drama facilitator.
Read more (PDF) >>