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This paper focuses on the origins and development of the New Labour’s reformist policies on juvenile justice in England and Wales. It outlines the central elements of the Crime and Disorder Act of 1998 and the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act of 1999. Together, these reforms constitute a major reworking of juvenile justice. Yet they also embody a number of dynamics with divergent penal aims and competing logics. These are explored and assessed. This paper discusses the manner in which notions of restorative justice influence the reforms and the punitive nature of some of the changes and their implications for the mangerialist agenda within juvenile justice.