This report has been co-produced by Leaders Unlocked and young adults with first-hand experience of the criminal justice system.

The Young Adult Advisors on Criminal Justice are a national group of young adults aged 18 to 25 years with various lived experiences of the criminal justice system. The group uses the power of lived experience to inform changes in policy, service design and delivery. Leaders Unlocked established the Young Adult Advisors group in 2016, with support from the Barrow Cadbury Trust. After a successful pilot, the Young Adult Advisors expanded to recruit more young adults to join the project and to conduct peer-led research on a broad range of priority topics.

From start to finish, the project has been driven by the Young Adult Advisors, enabling them to lead the research, gather the findings and put forward solutions to the problems they identify.

The impact report is based on peer-led engagement with over 500 young adults across the country. Each section features quotes from young adults and outlines the main recommendations the advisors have put forward for agencies and decision-makers to consider.

It is intended to act as an unmediated, reflective record of what young adults have said through this peer-to-peer research process.