Whatever punishment the state imposes on a young person, we have to be concerned about what happens to them afterwards, in particular when they leave custody. But in the experience of too many of these individuals, as we have heard this morning, they feel unsupported and unwanted. They are, sadly, not alone. A report entitled The Drop Out Society published by the National Youth Agency in October last year estimated that there were approximately 100,000 young people between the ages of 16 and 24 who were not in education, training or employment. Faced with bleak analyses of this kind, there is a danger that a whole section of our society is then labelled as redundant and worthless, and even demonised.
Many individuals feel themselves to be rejected and unwanted by society.
These problems are pervasive and deep seated, and need urgent consideration and action to prevent their becoming worse. In a recent report A Time for Justice, published by the Social Welfare Committee of the Catholic Bishops' Conference, a succinct list is given of the measures which the church has a duty to help promote. They are all important and I hope you will forgive me for repeating a few. These are all important measures which influence the environment in which young people grow up, and to which young offenders return on their release from custody. Whilst it is important not to lose sight of these issues, we are in fact here today to launch a pilot project to help young offenders make the difficult transition to a stable community life.