Lord Phillips made some general observations about the punishment function of the criminal justice system, and alternatives to custody - especially for young offenders.
He looked at the background causes of youth offending, including unemployment, illiteracy, mental health and drug problems - and talked about some of the projects working to help young people overcome them:
“Since I have become Chief Justice I have learned of the amazing number of different initiatives that exist in the United Kingdom that, in one way or another, are seeking to do the same thing. That thing is to help young people to develop self-respect. To learn, often for the first time, that there are people who think that they are worth something, to learn the satisfaction of achievement, so that they come to value themselves.”
