Despite the events of the past 25 years, Northern Ireland remains one of the most crime-free jurisdictions in the developed world. Over the past 10 years, a decreasing proportion of juvenile offenders have been taken to court or sentenced to custody. The recent policy review concluded that criminal justice policy should rest on five principles: protection, personal responsibility, proportionality of responses, fairness, and responsiveness. The most significant juvenile justice decision resulting from this review is that Northern Ireland should have a statutory sentencing framework. This framework should embody the principles that sentencing focus on offense seriousness while considering prior history and other factors, sentences be more severe for violent crimes and sex offenses, courts provide reasons for custodial and certain community sentences, courts consider using presentencing reports for custodial or certain community sentences, and psychological reports be provided before custodial sentencing of mentally ill offenders. Figures