Abstract

Eleven thousand young people live in prisons across the country. The majority of these children have been excluded from school and pupil referral units before being locked up. 80% reoffend within two years and will continue to serve time in prison for the rest of their adult life. Why? How can we intervene? What causes this criminal career? The truth is that these children are bright. They have potential like you and I, Oxbridge graduates. Incarcerating these kids is a waste of money we do not have and talent that the country vitally needs. This talk addresses the problems within the youth justice system and discusses in detail the changes affected by acknowledging that young offenders are like us, with high learning potential, but go deprived and without stimulation.

Laura Mckoy, an undergraduate of Pembroke College, is currently embarking on a Masters Degree in Law at the University of Melbourne, Australia. She has been commissioned by the National Association for Gifted Children to lead a research project identifying those with high learning potential in the youth justice system and developing programmes to reduce offending.