Effective sentences for children who commit serious offences What does the evidence tell us?

This chapter describes three endeavours to gain insight in the evidence for the effectiveness of sentences imposed for youth, between 12–23 years of age, who committed serious offences. Firstly, to give an overview of the effects established in previous studies, a systematic literature review was conducted. Secondly, for Germany, Sweden, England/Wales, Ireland, Belgium, and The Netherlands, attempts were made to gather and examine data to establish the effects of sentences for youth who committed serious offences. Thirdly, the results of our qualitative study following up on youth who have been convicted of a serious offence, focusing on whether the sanctions have been carried out as intended and predictors and indicators of resocialization, were discussed. Overall, this chapter provides a contemporary overview of what is known about the effectiveness of sentences imposed on youth who commit serious offences, concluding that an evidence base for effectiveness of imposed sentences is lacking.