Freelance research work – childhood criminal records
The Standing Committee for Youth Justice (SCYJ) is looking for a researcher to complete a
project on a freelance basis, looking at how criminal records acquired in childhood are
treated in adulthood. This will involve researching law, policy, practice, and reoffending
rates in the UK and other jurisdictions, writing these findings up into a report, and presenting
at two conferences.
The researcher will:
 Through desk based research, collate information on law, policy and practice on how
criminal records acquired in childhood are dealt with at 18 in: the UK, a sample of 10
other EU member states, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
 Identify an expert in each jurisdiction and conduct a brief interview on law, policy and
practice.
 Collect any available data on the proportion of children who have committed
offences, who go on to commit offences in adulthood in six of the above jurisdictions.
 Conduct a brief analysis of the data and information collected.
 Write up findings.
 Present findings at two conferences.
It is anticipated that the work will take between 19 and a maximum of 30 days to complete.
The daily rate will be dependent on the skills, experience and capacity of the candidate. The
SCYJ will use this work to inform the policy and political debate on the treatment of
childhood criminal records in England and Wales.
The researcher will be self-employed for the purposes of this contract and work entirely
independently, with no supervision. We are looking for someone who:
 Has at least a Masters degree in a relevant discipline or, preferably, has, or is
working towards, a PhD.
 Has a good knowledge of youth justice and/or justice policy. A knowledge of criminal
records systems would be desirable.
 Has research and report-writing experience.
 Is thorough and grasps new and complex information quickly.
 Takes the initiative and has experience of producing high-quality work independently,
without supervision.
To be considered, please email [email protected] with a CV, an example of past work,
and the contact details of two references by 31st March 2015. If you have any questions on
the role or the project, please do get in touch.
Standing Committee for Youth Justice │ 8 Wakley Street, London, EC1V 7QE
T: 020 7843 6079 │ E: [email protected] │ W: www.scyj.org.uk │ Twitter: @theSCYJ