Maturity of young adult defendants

Psychologists believe the biological and psychological processes of developing maturity continue into a person’s mid-20s. Consequently, the Crown Prosecution Service requires potential 18 to 25-year-old defendants’ maturity to be taken into consideration when deciding whether to prosecute, and ‘lack of maturity’ is a mitigating factor in sentencing decisions.

In a report published this week, ‘Maturity in the magistrates’ court’, the association argues magistrates need to be given a general understanding of maturity and how it affects both participation of young adults in court and sentencing decisions. It also recommended more young adults be independently assessed for maturity before the first hearing takes place.

Magistrates’ Association chief executive Jon Collins said: ‘This would help magistrates to be better-informed about the people appearing before them, which would in turn support improved court practice and fairer, more effective sentencing.’

The report is based on research funded by the Barrow Cadbury Trust. It highlights that most of the research to date on young adults in the criminal justice system has been restricted to Crown courts, whereas the majority of offences that come to court are handled entirely in magistrates’ courts.

The research found maturity is rarely raised as a factor early in the process and, when it is, is usually introduced by defence lawyers. The magistrates said they would prefer to be given robust, independent assessments of maturity.

Most usually, maturity is raised post-conviction and before sentencing, usually by the probation service in a pre-sentence report. Magistrates said they often felt they did not receive enough information at that point to effectively include it in their decisions. Most of the magistrates felt maturity should be taken into consideration more often than it currently is.