The
YJB’s Annual Report 2007/08, published today, reveals significant achievements and improvements in the youth justice system over the last year.
Highlights of the report include:
- exceeding the 5% target to reduce first-time entrants into the youth justice system between 2005 and 2008
- the first full year in which young women in custody have been accommodated separately from adults
- providing 250 new custodial places for young men separate from adult custody, reinforcing our commitment to provide safer, age-appropriate facilities for young people
- provision of over 25 hours per week of education, training and development activity for young people in custody, with improvements in literacy and numeracy.
According to the report, the target for the youth justice system to reduce the proportion of young people who reoffend is unlikely to be met; but there has been a reduction in the frequency of re-offences committed by young people by 17.4% between 2000 and 2005.
The absolute number of young people in custody has not reduced, but there has been success in reducing the proportion of all sentences that are custodial, in contrast to the trend for adult custody where numbers have risen significantly.
The Annual Report also highlights the range of work supported by the YJB to reduce offending and reoffending. This includes prevention programmes targeted at those deemed most at risk of offending and the provision of robust alternatives to custody, such as the Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme.
Frances Done, Chair of the YJB, said:
“This report, published in our 10th anniversary year, shows how much the youth justice landscape has changed in a decade. The prevention approach is now so established that we have exceeded our target to reduce first time entrants into the youth justice system. This is not just a statistic – it represents individual young people who have been diverted from offending behaviour that damages their local community.”
Ends
Notes to editors
- The Youth Justice Board for England and Wales (YJB) oversees the youth justice system in England and Wales. We work to prevent offending and reoffending by children and young people under the age of 18, and to ensure that custody for them is safe, secure, and addresses the causes of their offending behaviour.
- Specifically, we advise the Secretary of State on the operation of, and standards for, the youth justice system; monitor the performance of the youth justice system; purchase places for, and place, children and young people remanded or sentenced to custody; identify and promote effective practice; make grants to local authorities or other bodies to support the development of effective practice; commission research and publish information.
- The Annual Report and Accounts 2007/08 is available, with previous years’ reports, from the publications area of our website.