By Tim Ecott: A parliamentary inquiry has revealed that the criminal justice system is failing young girls and women under the age of 18. A report says that magistrates are very often unaware of the circumstances that lead young girls into crime. According to the Howard League for Criminal Reform, girls who come before the courts often come from disadvantaged backgrounds or have mental problems. Lorraine Atkinson, a Senior Policy Officer with the Howard League, on what the report reveals. I think the sixty second finding shows that girls are being criminalized for behavior which a few generations ago wouldn’t even have been picked up by the police. And as a consequence of this, girls are ending up in court, they’re ending up with a criminal record and it’s blighting their lives, now and in the future.What do you mean by behavior that once upon a time wouldn’t have put them in court? Source: Voice of Russia.
