Cash lift for services to prevent youth offending in Scotland

Services to prevent young people from offending in Scotland have
been given 50 per cent extra funding over the next two years,
writes David Brown.

Local authorities and their partners will receive an increase in
funding for youth justice services from £10 million pounds to
£15 million by 2005-06 to step up their work.

Justice minister Cathy Jamieson said the increased investment
would help local authorities achieve a range of national targets,
including reducing the number of persistent young offenders in
Scotland by 10 per cent.

She said: “There is no single solution to tackling and reducing
youth crime. That is why the Scottish Executive is already
providing funding for a range of local measures – from prevention
and early intervention programmes to the most intensive and robust
methods of supervision.”

The investment is designed to help local authorities achieve a
range of national targets in youth justice – including reducing the
number of these persistent young offenders in Scotland by 10 per
cent.

Jamieson said that investment in services for youth offenders
meant that the Scotland now had 3,000 places on restorative youth
justice programmes.

Places already exist on schemes for 1,250 young people involved
in offending. There are three pilots for fast-track court hearings
and a pilot youth court in South Lanarkshire.

The additional cash means Argyll and Bute will receive
£183,633; East Ayrshire £396,502; East Dunbartonshire
£170,554; East Renfrewshire £158,334; North Ayrshire
£500,970; North Lanarkshire £1,074,871; Renfrewshire
£570,956; South Ayrshire £263,048; South Lanarkshire
£822,812; West Dunbartonshire £416,335.