Locked in the Past: The Custodial Disposal of Children in Northern Ireland.

This paper will examine developments in criminal justice legislation in relation to the custodial disposal of children in Northern Ireland since the implementation of the Criminal Justice (Children) (Northern Ireland) Order 1998. It will critically analyse the approach adopted to the use of custody for children in light of children's experiences of custody within the juvenile justice and adult prison systems in Northern Ireland. The main body of the paper will report findings from interviews with young male and female offenders who were committed to custody by the criminal courts. Children's perceptions of the court's decision and of the custodial disposals, including their regimes and impact will be discussed. It will be argued that there is a wide gap between rhetorical evocations that the child's best interests are paramount and the reality that since 1998, the custodial disposal system for children in Northern Ireland has failed to undergo fundamental reform in order to ensure the protection of the rights and welfare of children. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]