Facing the Consequences1

AS IN OTHER FIELDS OF POLITICS, MAJOR CHANGES IN THE JUSTICE SYSTEM tend to occur when there is not only a practical need and political support for change but also a theory or philosophy with which to justify new practices. The search for alternatives to the court system for dealing with young offenders is a good example. Practitioners and observers of the system for dealing with young offenders tend to talk of two basic models. The "justice" model has tended to see juvenile delinquency as a psychological problem whereby young offenders have exercised their free will inappropriately. The "welfare" model has tended to see the behaviour of young offenders as a sociological problem. Each swing of the policy pendulum between the "welfare" and "justice" models has been justified by theories of child psychology and beliefs about the deterrent effect of various treatments. A concern that young offenders were being labelled as criminals and thereby stigmatised encouraged the search for less formal procedures during the 1960s and 1970s. Concern that informal procedures potentially deprived young offenders of the right to due process subsequently encouraged the trend back towards a justice model. In the language of our debased political vocabulary, this oscillation between the welfare and justice models of dealing with young offenders has been seen to reflect a struggle between "liberal" or "leftist" values on the one hand and "conservative", "right-wing" or "authoritarian" values on the other. It is becoming clear, however, that this political language is no longer adequate. It encourages thinking and politicking that is confused rather than enlightened. The liberal democratic philosophy within which this debate takes place is an invaluable tradition. It tends, however, to emphasise individual rights at the expense of social obligations or duties. It draws a sharp distinction between public life and the private sphere. The legal system formally reflects this philosophy, and in recent debates about the legal justice