Young People, Conflict and Regulation

Abstract

Set against the progress claimed since the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, this article reflects the reality of life for children and young people as they negotiate the aftermath of the Conflict in Northern Ireland. Their experiences of informal and formal policing, community and State control, demonstrate the need to understand the lasting impacts of the Conflict when developing policies and practices affecting their lives. At a crucial defining period in the devolution of justice and policing, and based on primary research conducted by the authors, the article establishes key rights‐compliant principles central to reform of youth justice.

Experiences of Youth Justice: Youth Justice Discourses and Their Multiple Effects

“…Sometimes explaining his behaviour in individual terns (defining himself as a 'hood'), Kevin also described his feelings of boredom, the lack of things to do in his community and by contrast the excitement of rioting: 'you get like an adrenaline rush so you do… it's good'. Within the local context rioting has historically been a masculine form of cultural expression and resistance (Haydon et al, 2012). It can be seen, therefore, that despite restorative interventions the context and circumstances of Kevin's life, continued to impact heavily on his offending behaviour.…”

Rough Justice: Considerations on the Role of Violence, Masculinity, and the Alienation of Young Men in Communities and Peacebuilding Processes in Northern Ireland

“…Zaykowski, 2013). However unlike the young people who may not report to the police because they can seek help from others in authority roles such as parents, teachers, principals, and child protection services, the young men in this Northern Ireland study felt there was no one they could talk to about victimization (for similar findings see Haydon et al, 2012).…”

“…Northern Ireland is a transitional society moving from a prolonged period of political conflict towards a more peaceful and shared future. To suggest, however, that Northern Ireland is a society at peace is to ignore continued high levels of political violence and paramilitary activity (Gormley-Heenan and Monaghan, 2012;Nolan, 2014), and the fact that many young people remain marginalized, vulnerable and undervalued (Haydon et al, 2012;McAlister et al, 2009). While the conflict has impacted upon all members of society, being young and male in Northern Ireland − when looked at through the lens of key statistics relating to deaths from the Troubles, suicides, contact with the juvenile justice system, gender differences in academic under-achievement and suspension and expulsion from school (Department of Education 2011a, 2011b.…”

Violence in the Lives of Children and Youth in “Post-Conflict” Northern Ireland

“…Sectarianism, violence and rioting were previously associated with a political/ cultural desire for equality, rights and freedoms. Postconflict, such behavior is regularly explained in popular and political discourses as "recreational" (Haydon, McAlister and Scraton 2012;Smyth 2011;Leonard 2010). …”

“…The level of control they experienced was at odds with adult perceptions of a "policing void" and a lack of formal and informal controls. Young people in at least three of the communities reported police contact consistent with harassment-being regularly stopped and searched, verbally abused/ ridiculed, and threatened with official sanctions (for non-criminal behavior): Poor relationships between young people and the police, and between some communities and the police, sometimes exploded in rioting-an historical expression of resistance in Northern Ireland (see Haydon, McAlister and Scraton 2012).…”