News

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.