Five Nations Conference on Children, Young People and Crime ‘Producing the Goods? – a perspective from England’

John Drew Chief Executive, Youth Justice Board for England and Wales 5 th September 2012

Challenges we face in England and in Wales

How to build a youth justice system that is: effective distinctly child focused safe and decent links well with systems for young adults builds public confidence Some of these are unique to our jurisdiction, others probably have a more common currency

Foreword - the current state of youth justice in England and Wales

• How the English and Welsh system is performing at the moment • The UK Government’s reform agenda for England and Wales • How England and Welsh youth justice is diverging

The basics about youth justice in England and Wales

• 11 million children in England • 705,000 children in Wales In 2010/11: • 242,000 children arrested • 72,000 court disposals • 85,000 children supervised by YOTs • 1,811 children in custody (April 2012)

Overall cost of the system

Custody Community Central costs

£685m

£320m £340m £25m

How the English and Welsh youth justice system is performing at the moment

Over the last ten years … 50% • reduction in the number of first-time entrants 35% • reduction in proven offences committed by children 30% • reduction in the numbers of children in custody

First-time entrants to the criminal justice system

Reprimand or final warning Conviction 120,000 100,000 80,000 60,000 40,000 20,000 0 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Proven offences committed by young people

350,000 300,000 250,000 200,000 150,000 100,000 50,000 0 2002/03 2003/04 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11

Reoffending: Proportion of offenders who reoffend (binary)

40.0

35.0

30.0

25.0

20.0

15.0

10.0

5.0

0.0

33.7

2000 33.4

34.3

2002 2003 33.6

33.6

33.7

33.1

32.7

32.6

34.1

2004 2005 12 months ending June 2006 12 months ending June 2007 12 months ending June 2008 12 months ending June 2009 12 months ending June 2010

Reoffending: Average number of re-offences per offender (frequency)

1.20

1.12

1.00

0.80

0.60

0.40

0.20

0.00

2000 1.10

1.09

1.03

0.98

0.97

0.94

0.90

0.89

0.96

2002 2003 2004 2005 12 months ending June 2006 12 months 12 months ending ending June 2007 June 2008 12 months ending June 2009 12 months ending June 2010

Average secure estate population

Average Under 18 year old Secure Estate for Children and Young People Population, 2000/01 - 2012/13*

3,100 2,900 2,700 2,500 2,300 2,100 1,900 1,700 2000/01 2001/02 2002/03 2003/04 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12* 2012/13 YTD* * Provisional data, 2012/13 average for April to June only

Reprise - Challenges we face in England & Wales

How to build a youth justice system that is: effective distinctly child focused safe and decent links well with systems for young adults builds public confidence

Effective youth justice?

Ten elements we all may need to reduce offending by children:

1. Early intervention and prevention 2. … co-commissioned but not necessarily delivered by youth justice 3. A patient, diversionary approach for early offences with 4. …policing policies that support this approach 5. A common assessment system which addresses the young person’s capacity to desist as well as the risks they pose ad which are posed by them 6. Services designed and delivered to build desistance 7. Interventions that draw on resources from all agencies and professions 8. A developing evidence base that is modest in itself 9. …but clear about patterns of offending by children 10. Seamless passages for children leaving custody

Building public confidence?

20% of the English public report

confidence in youth courts

45% of the English public believe

rehabilitatio n

should be the

main aim

of the youth justice system 59% of the English public are

confident

with how youth crime and anti social behaviour are

tackled

locally 64% of the English public believe

children treated too leniently

courts by the police and

The challenge – winning greater acceptance of the reform agenda without imperilling the progress of the last few years

In conclusion …

• These c hallenges are being faced in times of huge financial retrenchment • But it also a time of opportunity and change throughout youth justice in England and Wales • Youth justice is a grass roots movement as much as it is an area of criminology or a organisational form for teams and departments

The challenge – there is much that we could and should learn from each other, how are we going to do this?

John Drew Chief Executive, Youth Justice Board [email protected]

020 3372 8014 07946 854605