Policing Young Adults

Our recently completed Policing Young Adults project builds on the work of the Police Foundation’s Independent Commission on Youth Crime and Antisocial Behaviour which concluded in 2010. It was commissioned by the Barrow Cadbury Trust as part of its Transition to Adulthood initiative which promotes the notion that the criminal justice system should take better account of the specific needs of young people aged 18-24. This is based on research which shows that young adults do not all reach maturity by the age of 25.

This scoping study draws on a number of interviews with young adults, police officers and experts and focuses on encounters between young people and the police, and how well officers handle these interactions, particularly those involving stop and search and the night-time economy. The study concludes that better training and supervision of frontline officers could improve relations. It also proposes a future agenda for research, policy and practice.

Read the research findings.