Agenda item

Andy Hood presented the report to the Committee highlighting there was a statutory requirement to approve and submit the report to the Youth Justice Board of England and Wales annually. It was reported there was some exceptional performance against targets detailed in the plan particularly in relation to reducing the number of young people entering the Youth Justice System for the first time and for the use of custody. Reducing the number of young people entering the formal Youth Justice System has enabled the service to shift some of its resource further “upstream” into Team EPIC (Encouraging Potential Inspiring Change) to work preventatively and creatively with those at risk of entering the system. Early intervention together with a whole family approach was seen as a more effective way of tackling issues early, by diverting young people away from entering the youth justice system by other positive activities.

Following the presentation Members were given the opportunity to ask questions and the following issues were raised:

Members enquired if the statistics detailing youth crime, particularly relating to gangs represented the perception of people living in communities, particularly where there were high rates of criminal activity and anti-social behaviour.

It was reported that crime and perception of crime differed across communities within the Borough. In addition, crimes relating to gangs and anti-social behaviour were not always committed by young people even though that was sometimes the perception. Team EPIC and other services, such as Expect Youth had undertaken a significant amount of work in areas where there were known criminal activities involving young people. In terms of the accuracy of the figures in the report, there was a general view that relevant crimes were being reported and a confidence in the robustness of the figures.

Reference was made to the performance of Youth Offending Service in Stockton and Wigan who had been reference within the report as a statistical neighbour. Members asked if best practice had been identified from these or any other local authorities. It was reported that the Youth Offending Team were engaging with East Riding of Yorkshire who had recently been awarded outstanding in all areas of its Youth Justice Plan to identify any areas of best practice.

Members asked for further information on gang affiliation of those entering the criminal justice system. It was reported there was an issue of gang affiliation in the Dearne Valley corridor and this was predominantly male gangs. This had been an area of focus for EPIC and other services in terms of identifying support for individuals and initiatives to reduce this through positive diversionary activity.

Members identified that a significant number of young people entering the Criminal justice system had speech and language issues and asked what measures were in place to support them. It was reported that this was identified early by the Triage Panel which would ensure any issues were reported to the relevant agencies and that relevant support mechanisms were put in place. Members also enquired how the Youth Offending Team worked with schools to identify speech and language issues early. It was reported that EPIC worked successfully with academies to deliver training. It was also explained that dyslexia among school children was a national issue and the Committee queried whether screening methods were in place in schools to identify dyslexia early. It was agreed this information would be circulated to the Committee at a later date.

Members asked how the service positively engaged with families and parents to intervene early and provide support. It was reported there were a range of interventions requiring a whole family approach including use of family therapists and where appropriate, the Stronger Families Team particularly where there were significant issues around parenting, drug abuse and mental health.

A Member queried the presentation of the performance information and statistics used in the report. The Committee was informed that there was a requirement to present the information in accordance with government requirements. In future additional information could be provided where required to ensure the information was meaningful to councillors.

            RESOLVED that:-

(1)  The Committee support the report and the excellent progress made in a number of areas including reducing the number of First Time Entrants (FTE’s) in the Youth Justice System;

(2)  Further work be undertaken to understand the current position in relation to early identification of speech and language issues across the Borough; and

(3)  The Youth Offending Team continue to identify and reviews best practice across other Local Authorities.