By Ionnuala Ratcliffe and Penelope Gibbs

How are young adults treated in the magistrates’ courts? How, if at all, is their maturity considered and taken into account by the court? This report seeks to answer these questions, based on testimony from 82 courtwatchers, volunteer members of the public who observed London magistrates’ courts for six months in the second half of 2023. Sentencing Council guidelines recognise the potential impact of young adults’ developing maturity on their responsibility for an offence, their ability to cope with a prison or community sentence, and their capacity to participate effectively in court proceedings. Courtwatchers observed almost 200 hearings involving a young adult defendant. They reported that maturity was mentioned in less than a third of hearings observed. When maturity was raised, it usually wasn’t covered in depth, rather “mentioned as an aside, no specific arguments made.” Some maturity arguments applied specifically to the offence or defendant: on the young adult’s susceptibility to peer pressure, their difficulties assessing risk, the potential impact of a court sanction on their education or employment, and their potential for rehabilitation. But these were few and far between. When mentioned, arguments about maturity did sometimes prompt the court to reduce the severity of the sentence given, or at least to postpone sentencing until they had more information about the defendant. But most of the time, comments about maturity were dismissed by court decision makers or deprioritised compared to other factors. Courtwatchers observed young adults being treated much the same as older defendants, with little direct engagement with young adult defendants, frequent use of the secure dock and challenges arranging interpreters. This report sets out recommendations for how the courts can deal with young adult defendants more effectively by considering maturity more thoroughly. 

London: Transform Justice, 2024. 31p.