Recently in Youth Justice Category

by Dean Woodward

Portsmouth University's critical study of the effectiveness of ISSPs is wide of the mark argues youth offending specialist Dean Woodward

The call to "scrap" intensive supervision and surveillance programmes (ISSP) by the University of Portsmouth seems incredibly bold.
I don't know if it is the assumption that the snapshot survey in Portsmouth of two youth offending teams is representative of the 157 across England and Wales, or if it is the sensationalised quotes from the clients ("I should have gone to custody"; "I can't get out of bed", etc) that I find the most surprising. Or it may be the simplistic solutions proposed, such as needing to find a new environment and new peers, and to teach job-related skills to reduce re-offending.

By Penelope Gibbs, Prison Reform Trust

 

He who pays the piper calls the tune. Or at least has greater influence over the tune. If local authorities paid for child custody, they would surely gain more control over where children are placed and the quality of regimes. And have a greater incentive to stop children being imprisoned. The government's new Youth Crime Action Plan has flirted with the idea of delegating the custody budget but not championed it. It proposes making the costs of custody more visible to inform debate "on whether, in the long term, local authorities should be responsible for the placement and funding of custodial placements".

by Bob Reitemeier

The vast majority of young offenders should be rehabilitated in the community; prison is for the most serious of crimes