The nomination period for the 2008 Justice Awards has now begun and will run until 4 August 2008.

The Youth Justice Board has closed England’s only open juvenile unit, at Thorn Cross prison in Cheshire, despite it being rated a beacon of good practice.

A row has broken out between secure children's homes managers and the Youth Justice Board over the removal of vulnerable 15-year-olds from secure children's homes.

The YJB is grateful to the Coroner for investigating the death of Adam Rickwood.

Ellie Roy, Chief Executive of the YJB, said: “Once the Coroner’s formal written adjudication has been received we will look carefully at all the issues raised.
“Our heartfelt thoughts go out to Adam’s family.

“The YJB remains committed to working with everyone within the youth justice system to making custody as safe and effective as possible.”

Graham Robb, Interim Chair of the YJB, said: “The YJB, an independent non-departmental public body, looks forward to working closely with our new sponsoring department, the Ministry of Justice. We will continue working closely with sentencers, the police and other government agencies with the aim of preventing and reducing re-offending by children and young people under 18.”

HM Inspectorate of Probation have released th final inspection criteria for phase three of the YOT inspection programme

Youth Justice Board guidance on the Criminal Justice Act 2003 and the key elements which are enacted on 4th April 2005 has been published.

From 4 April 2005, key aspects of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (the Act) will come into effect. The majority of the changes that it introduces will apply to adult offenders only.

This document presents detailed information gathered from Youth Offending Teams (Yots) on the offences committed by young people, the remand decisions made, the sentences given and the performance of

The Youth justice Board has officially launched the its, which sets out the key developments in the youth justice system in 2003/04. There has been real progress ? the Audit Commission concluded that ?the new arrangements are a significant improvement and a good model for delivering public services?.

The Youth Justice Board is consulting on its strategy for secure accommodation for young offenders.

The board aims to tackle uneven distribution of beds across England and Wales and the fact that too many prison service units are large traditional cell blocks shared with adult prisoners.

Staff also need more training in positive, child-centred care and control methods, says the YJB.