Youth Justice Needs Support

Cllr Jerry Roodhouse speaks out on Warwickshires Youth Justice Plan.

He sais,

"This is an important service, and I think it is important that we recognise where Warwickshire is doing well. The reduction in reoffences is encouraging. 

The Turnaround programme is also showing some very encouraging results, with 97.87% of children who completed that intervention not going on to reoffend.

So this is not a criticism of the dedicated staff working in Youth Justice. Quite the opposite. They deserve our support. But supporting a plan does not mean we should simply sign it off and walk away." 

Some figures in the report that should concern us.

The first is first-time entrants. The rate has increased by 10.7%, from 150 to 166 per 100,000 young people aged 10 to 17. That is now higher than the national rate of 150. That tells us that prevention and early intervention must remain at the heart of what happens next.

But the biggest concern is victims.

The plan tells us that 142 victims were identified. Only 59 consented to be contacted, and of those, only 33 were actually contacted. That means that barely over half of the victims who had consented to contact were reached.

The HMIP inspection rated the Youth Justice Service as good overall, but specifically rated the victims' standard as "requires improvement", with four actions identified, three of them relating to victims. The plan itself acknowledges that there is still work to do. There is another figure that deserves attention.

Of the young people identified as needing substance misuse support, 87.2% were offered an intervention—but only 47.1% were recorded as attending.

So our question is not simply whether we offer services. It is whether young people actually get through the door and receive the help.

The new plan talks about prevention, physical health, victims, education and employment, knife possession and support for girls.

Those are all important priorities. But the question is this:

What specifically will the adminstration at Warwick do differently over the next twelve months to improve the areas where performance is weakest—particularly first-time entrants, victim engagement and take-up of support—and how will the County Council members be able to see whether those improvements are actually happening?

The report tells us that the Chief Officers' Board will monitor the plan quarterly. That is welcome. But we would like the Administration to commit to bringing that information back to members in a clear and transparent way—not simply telling us that the plan is being monitored but showing us the trajectory.

• Are first-time entrants going down?
• Are more victims being contacted and supported?
• Are more young people with substance misuse needs actually engaging with treatment?
• And are the four actions arising from the HMIP inspection being completed?
• Because ultimately, a Youth Justice Plan is not successful because we approve a document.

It is successful when fewer young people enter the justice system, fewer reoffend, victims are properly supported, and young people get the help they need early enough to change the direction of their lives. 

Youth Justice Plan Link