Young people, crime and delinquency are words that are commonly linked in public perception and young people are often blamed for social ills. Their deviancy and threat to social control has been held to be a social fact from Plato to today. This book subjects that 'fact' to critical examination through consideration of youth justice systems in six different countries, drawing on sociological and criminological analysis as well as expert practitioner opinion. This book's comparative, cultural approach allows for consideration of the impact of new and emergent systems of communication and discourse and considers how these may impact future constructions of delinquency at a local and global level. Understanding changing constructions of delinquency, the systems and responses we already have and their strengths and weaknesses enables critique about what we do and what we know, and allows us to imagine how it might be otherwise.

Elaine Arnull is Reader in Social Work and Social Policy at Nottingham Trent University, UK. Her research is focused on the area of delinquency, with especial interest in young people and in substance use. She is the author of books in both of these areas. Darrell Fox is Assistant Professor at the University of the Fraser Valley, British Columbia, Canada. His research interests include independent advocacy approaches for children and young people involved in the welfare and justice system and alternative intervention programs, such as music and yoga with disaffected youth.