YJB makes case for prevention

The Youth Justice Board launches a new strategy today designed to further its argument that youth crime resources should be shifted out of custody and into prevention.

The prevention strategy, which will be launched at a YJB conference today, illustrates the benefits of current preventive work and sets out the board’s future priorities in this area.

Last year, former YJB chair Rod Morgan slammed as “pitiful” the fact the board spent £26m on prevention and £287m on funding custody.

Bob Ashford, the YJB’s head of prevention, said: “We need to persuade the public, budget holders and policy makers of the importance of prevention work. Changing attitudes and expectations to stop offending before it starts rather than punishing it after the fact makes economic and political sense.”