Professor Rod Morgan: Youth Justice - Are we on the Right Track ?
On Friday 2nd October, Dauntsey's was pleased to welcome Professor Rod Morgan, the Chairman of the Youth Justice Board between 2004-2007 and a former HM Chief Inspector of Probation for England and Wales, who delivered the first of our series of Mercers' Lectures for this academic year.
Before the Lecture, Professor Morgan led a discussion with the members of the Head Master's Essay Society on "What should be the age of Criminal Responsibility? The discussion provoked a lively engaging exchange which complemented the evening lecture superbly.
For the Mercers' Lecture, later in the evening, Professor Morgan addressed a large and appreciative audience delivering his thoughts on the nature of how our justice system treats and fails our young offenders, entitled "Youth Justice - Are We on the Right Track?". The topic was fascinating and the audience was entirely gripped and mostly, if not entirely, persuaded by his compelling arguments . His discussion was thought-provoking and challenged successfully the validity of the prolific incarceration of young offenders by the British Youth Justice System; the quality of the questions was exceptional and the discussion after the lecture continued vigorously. Professor Morgan offered some ideas as to where, in his view, the future should be going when it comes to youth justice in our society and stressed the urgency of action giving the pressing nature of the problem.
Professor Morgan's talk was a superb start to the Mercers' lecture programme and the School eagerly awaits the second in the series on Friday, 16th October, given by Lord Geddes, entitled, 'The House of Lords: Past, present and Future' at 7.30pm in the Memorial Hall.