Brain injury and its implications for criminal justice repairing shaTTered lives :

Who is this report for? The audience for this report is broad, but will be of particular interest to commissioners and practitioners working in the fields of criminal justice, health and social care. It is also of great relevance to policy-makers with an interest in crime prevention and health improvement. What is the Transition to Adulthood Alliance? The Transition to Adulthood (T2A) Alliance is a coalition of 12 of the leading organisations in the criminal justice, youth and health sectors. Convened by the Barrow Cadbury Trust in 2008, the Alliance has conducted research and demonstrated practice to support the development of a more effective approach for young people in the transition to adulthood throughout the criminal justice process. A 2012 report, Pathways from Crime, set out ten steps to delivering a T2A approach (www.t2a.org.uk/pathway). Three T2A pilot projects, running since 2009, have demonstrated that the holistic integrated approaches that support desistance from crime, and improve employability, health and family relationships. The Transition to Adulthood Alliance's work on maturity and criminal justice In 2011, T2A began a specific work stream to look at the concept of maturity in a criminal justice context. At a meeting hosted by Lord Keith Bradley, experts from neurology, psychology and criminology all confirmed that research supports the T2A position that developmental maturity should be taken into account throughout the criminal justice process. Indeed, maturity can be a better indication of adulthood than reaching a particular chronological age. A subsequent poll for T2A by Com Res found public and political support for this position, with 7 in 10 members of the public agreeing that the maturity of a young adult should be taken into account in sentencing. 8 out of 10 MPs thought the same. A literature review by Birmingham University for T2A in 2011 found that the adult brain is not fully mature until at least the mid-20s, and that temperance and impulse control are among the last areas of the brain to develop fully. Later in 2011, the Sentencing Council for England and Wales included, for the first time, 'lack of maturity' as a mitigating factor in sentencing guidelines for adults. The Crown Prosecution Service is currently consulting on including 'lack of maturity' as a factor reducing culpability in its new Code of Conduct. Given the prominence of research findings from neurology in T2A's work on maturity to date, this report sets out more clearly …