Burgeoning youth incarceration and high reconviction rates in England and Wales have prompted a search for alternative responses. This has led to a renewed interest in other youth justice systems which appear to incarcerate fewer children and young people. Not surprisingly, Finland with the lowest rate of youth imprisonment and one of the lowest crime rates in Europe, has become a focus of attention. The research upon which this article is based set out to discover how, if Finnish youth incarceration rates are so low, the Finns respond to their most troubled and troublesome children and young people. The results of this investigation have proved paradoxical.
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