Youth Justice Board pleads for more funding

Spending on youth inclusion programmes should increase fourfold,
the Youth Justice Board has stated.

Focused on 50 young people in each of 70 high crime areas, the
programmes are aimed at those most at risk of involvement in
criminal activity.

YJB figures suggest that programmes have made big inroads on crime,
with a 74.6 per cent fall in arrest rates between January and March
this year among the young people targeted in each area.

The YJB says that an additional £9m for programmes would mean
that nearly 300 areas could be covered by the programmes. It has
been critical of the Home Office for failing to say how the
existing money will be spent. “The delay about making a decision
for YIPs in the next financial year has resulted in managers
leaving, fearing that they have no job prospects,” a YJB
spokesperson said.

A decision on funding for youth inclusion programmes is expected in
the autumn.

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