I’m delighted to have joined @the_AYJ board as a trustee, following their 2025 AGM. Excited to help shape the next phase of their work for a more just, child-centred youth justice system 🙌🏼
🔗 https://t.co/YP6zkYbsoV
I am not interested in climbing any corporate ladders. I don't care about job titles. I don't need recognition or fame. I just want to have an income to fund my lifestyle, not be depressed, help other people, and be around good humans.
Scotland has become the first country in the world to make tampons, sanitary pads, and other period products completely free for anyone who needs them.
Under the law, schools, colleges, and public facilities must provide these essentials at no cost, helping ensure that no one has to struggle to access basic hygiene products.
A huge step forward for health, dignity, and equality , and many hope more countries will follow Scotland’s lead.
What does a public health approach to violence reduction actually look like in practice?
Join us 6 May for a live conversation with @lbilli91 & @crmnlgy about their new book, The Public Health Approach to Violence Reduction: Stories, Movements, and Hope —informed by nearly 200 interviews with people from all walks of life.
Hosted by our Director of External Affairs and Youth Understanding, @ciaranthapar.
📅 6 May | 11:00–12:00 | Online
👇 Register
https://t.co/mTmWZuqTHf
#PublicHealthApproach #ViolenceReduction
Victimisation linked to weapon carrying.
The first Children, Violence & Vulnerability report shows teenagers carrying knives are 5x more likely to have been victims- blurring the lines between victim and perpetrator.
👉Our Youth Advisory Board call for more nuance in discussing knife crime: https://t.co/OelMKUw6mZ
#CVV2025 #YouthVoice #YouthSafety #EvidenceInPractice
"Its just common sense"
translates to
"Its just that I have limited knowledge of the complexities of this subject and thus have reduced it to a binary 'for or against' based on ignorance, personal experience and unconscious bias" 99 times out of 100
Really great to get some young people in the room to talk about the @metpoliceuk Children’s Strategy alongside @MOPACLdn this evening 📝 Big shout out to @nickyjanehill for always making sure the space was accessible & safe for those with lived experience ❤️
As a Youth Justice partner, are you diverting children from the criminal justice system with compassion and fairness?
📝Find out today by completing the Out of Court Resolution Practice Insight Creator here: https://t.co/mAHvpXoHpO
#Diversion#YouthJustice#Policing
Today we have published 'A joint thematic inspection of the effectiveness of diverting children from the criminal justice system: meeting needs, ensuring safety, and preventing reoffending' with @HMICFRS. Read the full report: https://t.co/FMlVuLlNVY
✅Child First practices lead to safer communities and better outcomes for children.
Swindon YJS - highlighted in BBC Radio 4’s Youth Justice documentary.
Prof @NealHazel:
“Custody is the last resort within the youth justice system […] the more we treat them [children] as potential offenders the more likely they are to do so. That’s why reoffending rates in custody are so much worse than in community sentences.”
Michael O'Connor:
“Once we started to focus on what shapes what you [children] think and feel about yourself [themselves] – what it is that shapes identity – that’s when we started seeing radical change for many children in Swindon. That directly correlated with a reduction of victims of violence and therefore safer communities.”
Listen to the documentary ➡️ https://t.co/DQsprK7tgN
#YouthJustice #ChildFirst #YJB
AYJ’s Millie Harris set out ten key characteristics of an approach that protects rather than punishes exploited young adults, along with a set of recommendations to enable that approach.
So great to hear @JacobFreeeman (of @PunchThePlay) telling his story of the redemptive power of RJ at the @AssnYOTmanagers conference “I was traumatised, desensitised to violence & not able to take accountability… I needed high support & high challenge” 💭 Harm to healing ❤️🩹
Two children, both arrested for a similar offence.
One is offered support, and the other isn’t.
Latest research in data from the Met Police shows that diversion works: it can almost halve reoffending (8.2% to 4.5%). Yet right now, thousands of children are missing out because diversion is applied inconsistently across England and Wales.
That’s why we’ve:
🔹 Published our Diversion Practice Guidance
🔹 Launched two pilots — the Youth Justice Partnership and Whole Area Model — to help local areas put this guidance into action
This isn’t just about reducing crime. It’s about fairness, opportunity, and ensuring every child has the same chance to thrive.
👉 Read our latest blog on tackling inconsistencies in diversion for more: https://t.co/oyj9SqNBjK
#YEF #YouthJustice #Diversion #EvidenceInAction
Taking a moment to pause, breathe and reconnect with why you started… whether it’s your values, your purpose, or the bigger picture can make everything feel lighter and more meaningful.