Position Paper 2023

Transdisciplinary Research for Youth Justice – Position Paper 2023 17 4. Case study analysis “I started smoking drugs and drinking. I got a really bad shoplifting habit. I remember, me and two of my mates went for a whole day, shop after shop, just to see what we could get. My mum didn’t’t understand so she just hit me or spent hours shouting. I climbed out of one of the windows and my mum tried to stop me, I got mad and started smashing car windows. As I did, a police car pulled up behind me. I had been arrested before, but this time I didn’t want to go home…” – Charlie, 16. (see Appendix 1 for Charlie’s Story in full) The case of Charlie (pseudonym) as presented in his own words entitled ‘My Life! ’available in the Appendix to this paper was written as part of an English lesson whilst he was in a secure children’s home. It depicts a child who has complex and cumulative vulnerability factors, navigating education and social welfare systems which fail to appropriately implement intervention strategies, resulting in a series of arrests and later incarceration. The following sections reflect how each of the disciplines within the TRYJUSTICE Network would respond to Charlie’s situation, where the best interventions lie and where more research is needed. This forms the Orientation stage of the research process described earlier. 4.1 From an educational perspective Whilst it is not known what (if any) special educational support Charlie was in receipt of, what is clear is that Charlie’s writing is indicative of literacy difficulties and that he has not been in education for some time. Charlie’s literacy level and potential school drop-out is over-represented in the criminal justice system (e.g. dyslexia, developmental coordination disorder) and could be impacting Charlie’s ability to engage with a traditional classroom