Summary:
In this webinar, Ali and Claire present the key messages from a recent edited book and article, which consider the relevance and application of desistance thinking to youth justice. This book was led and supported by The National Association for Youth Justice (NAYJ) – https://thenayj.org.uk/. Desistance thinking seeks to understand how people move away from offending and has primarily developed in relation to adults. In recent years, it has been transplanted from the adult to the youth justice system in England and Wales. Against this backdrop, the webinar will focus on the need for a context-dependent approach when applying desistance thinking with children; the important role of care in professional relationships (including care for practitioners and managers); and the centrality of socio-structural support to desistance. Bringing all of this together, they will make the case for desistance thinking with children to be centred on their long-term healthy development, moving beyond a focus on reducing offending.
Bios of Speakers:
Ali Wigzell is an Assistant Professor in Criminology at the University of Nottingham. Before this, she was a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow and Affiliated Lecturer at the Institute for Criminology at the University of Cambridge (2020 – 2024). Ali completed her PhD at the Institute of Criminology in 2020, examining children’s and practitioners’ perspectives and experiences of everyday youth justice supervision in England. Prior to and alongside her PhD, Ali worked as a Research Fellow at the Institute for Crime and Justice Policy Research at Birkbeck. Ali’s research interests include youth justice, desistance, and the emotional and moral dimensions of criminology and criminal justice. Ali is also a co-chair of the National Association for Youth Justice.
Claire Paterson-Young is an Associate Professor & Research Leader at the Institute for Social Innovation and Impact (ISII). Her research interests are social justice, youth studies, participatory research, child sexual exploitation, social impact measurement and AI in the criminal justice system. Claire has over 15 years practice and management experience in safeguarding, child sexual exploitation, trafficking, sexual violence, youth and restorative justice. She has consulted nationally with local authorities, police forces and national organisations to develop child sexual exploitation services and restorative justice services. Claire is Chair of the University of Northampton Research Ethics Committee and a serving member of the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Ethics Committee. She formerly served as a member of the Health and Research Association Research Ethics Committee. She is a trustee of the National Association for Youth Justice (NAYJ) and Research Affiliate at Vulnerability & Policing Futures Research Centre. Claire is currently an Associate Editor for the Journal of Child and Family Studies, International Advisory Board Member for the YOUNG Journal and Editorial Board Member for the Journal of Qualitative Criminal Justice and Criminology.
Relevant Links –
- Future webinars – https://www.tickettailor.com/events/childrensandyoungpeoplescentreforjustice
- Open access book: https://bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/edcollbook-oa/book/9781447369127/9781447369127.xml
- Open access journal article: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/14732254231223704?icid=int.sj-abstract.similar-articles.6
- Progressive desistance practice in youth justice – https://url.uk.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/VtrPCovQLF47352I1f9fp8hW2?domain=hmiprobation.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/
Presentation: https://www.cycj.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/CYCJ-Webinar_Final_for-sharing-080525.pdf