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The project

Project Title: Tracking Children in their Best Interests: electronic monitoring in three European juvenile justice systems (TCBI)

The use of electronic monitoring (EM) in European criminal justice systems is now widespread and continues to grow using primarily radio-frequency- and GPS-based technologies. Although there is a growing body of research on the use of EM with adults, very little is known about its use with children and young people. This two year comparative study is the first to investigate the use of EM with the age group between the minimum age of criminal responsibility (MACR) and 18 years. The research will be carried out in three European jurisdictions: England and Wales, Hungary, the Netherlands, where these measures are legally available for the respective age group. The project is funded by the European Commission’s Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship Programme and will be carried out by Dr. Eszter Párkányi and led by Professor Anthea Hucklesby of the Centre for Criminal Justice Studies, School of Law, University of Leeds, UK. It began in July 2018 and is due to be completed in June 2020.

The aim of the project is to investigate the use of EM measures in juvenile justice in three European jurisdictions and to understand the methods by which the special needs of children and young people are identified and addressed. The research will:

  1. identify and compare the legal and policy frameworks in which EM operates in the juvenile/youth justice systems;
  2. identify the existing models of EM schemes targeting young people across jurisdictions and examine their integration in the youth justice system;
  3. identify and explain gaps between the principles and operational realities of the use of EM with children and young people;
  4. investigate the views of stakeholders and children and young people about the use of EM in the context of juvenile/youth justice; and
  5. make recommendations for the most appropriate use of EM for children and young people in the context of criminal justice based on the practice of the three models identified.

The research will be carried out to the highest ethical standards complying with the University of Leeds Ethics Policy and the British Society of Criminology Ethical Standards. The research will be approved by the University of Leeds Ethics Committee.