Agenda item

George Shipman, Head of Children's Pathfinder Programme presented the report to the committee and confirmed the following highlights from the plan -

The youth justice plan is a requirement from the crime and disorder act 1998.  It is an annual plan that goes through the council process to be signed off by full council.  The committee was informed that this will be the last annual plan as it is moving to three-year plan with annual updates.  There were several changes to this year’s plan, including multi agency safeguarding arrangements, so it wasn’t the best time to move to three yearly.

The plan has a set proforma to complete.  The committee was asked to note expectations from the youth justice board including, child first principles, evidence-based practices and putting children at the heart of the service.  Work will include promoting positive elements and thinking about positive behaviour.

Last year’s plan set out four priorities – core good practice, day to day work of the service, reviewing policies and procedure and multi-agency/disciplinary process: being open and honest with all partners.

The plan builds on the progress made in 2023/24 including the embedding of the ARC (Attachment, Regulation, Competency) Trauma Informed Model.  This work will include thinking about interventions delivered to children and young people and what other tools are available.  This has been funded for a two-year period.

There will also be a focus on the prevention of serious violence with a focus on prevention with the development of pathways team getting involved at the earliest opportunities.  There will also be a targeted offer to schools to reduce the likelihood of young people getting involved in serious violence.

In relation to harmful sexual behaviours, it was confirmed that a new partnerships document has been produced and training is being rolled out to schools around the county on identifying behaviours and how to access support.

It was confirmed that reoffending rates are steadily declining.  There is a strong relationship between the service and the court.

Moving forward, key challenges were noted; strengthening governance and partnership working and making sure the service is inspection ready.  The committee noted that the service is currently in a really strong place.

There is some fixed term funding in place, primarily for the prevention work.  This will come to an end and sources for further funding are currently unclear; a number of changes may need to be made – sustainability is key

It was confirmed that a holistic approach to health, speech and language therapy has made a difference to the service along with substance misuse support.

In relation to victim support and restorative justice, the service is working towards a quality assurance mark for victim support.  Only a small number of youth justice services have achieved this, so it is a key aim for the team. 

Councillor Penny-Anne O’Donnell thanked officers for a very positive report and added a well done to the team for the recognition they have received. 

Following a question from Councillor O’Donnell in relation to the number of offenders that may have additional needs, George Shipman confirmed that there is a high number and that there is a multidisciplinary team in place who focus on support within education for those who have particular challenges such as attendance.

Following a question from the committee, it was confirmed that in almost all areas, Warwickshire is performing better that the UK, and against the statistical neighbours, average or better.  Councillor Jeff Morgan added that it is important to look at comparisons, especially with the statistical neighbours.  Councillor Morgan added that he has previously worked with the youth justice team and was always very impressed with the work.  The team work in extremely difficult situations and it is great to see the good work continuing.  Councillor Justin Kerridge added that the report is very encouraging and seeing the early intervention working across all service areas.

Councillor Parminder Singh Birdi raised the need for more detail in relation to point 14 – National Priority Areas, stating that there needs to be more local data.  George Shipman agreed that there does need to more data from a local level to see if there are local communities that we need to offer more support to. 

It was noted that a small number of cases has a disproportionally high impact on communities. George Shipman confirmed that the service is now closely tracking, live, the children and young people who are disproportionally causing disruptive behaviour.  The service is working with a number of agencies and almost all those young people will have complex needs, and some will be being exploited.  The team’s responsibility isn’t just crime reduction it is supporting these young people.  It was added that there may not be quick wins in some cases; it is about sustained support and early intervention, engagement in education and support to the wider family.  This isn’t an easy area and is reflected across the country.

Resolved

That the Committee comment upon the Warwickshire Youth Justice Service Strategic Plan 2023/24