The most visible differentiation between models of youth justice across Europe exists in tensions between welfare-based and justice-based approaches. Proponents of welfare-based interventions often find themselves conflicted by the current growth of a neo-liberal, nationalistic, and perhaps at times xenophobic political climate across Europe, calling for tougher sanctions and sentences for young offenders. As a consequence, the promotion of any primarily welfare-based approaches within youth justice settings across Europe has been slow to emerge within key strategies to develop effective interventions with young offenders.

This paper explores the merits of a youth justice model which embraces the welfare based ‘young people first – offenders second’ approach, and examines the potential role that a hybrid model of youth work practice and social pedagogy theory might play in achieving one of the key principles of Council of Europe (2008) of integrating young offenders back into society, and not their marginalisation and social exclusion.