Presentation from the How ard League for Penal Reform Decisions 1. - PDF document

Children and Young People Board Item 1 8 November 2005 Presentation from the How ard League for Penal Reform Decisions 1. P resentation from F rances Crook, Chief E xecutive of the Howard League for P enal R eform. Members should consider the presentation in the context of local government and its role in fulfilling the potential of children and young people. 2. After the presentation there will be an opportunity for discussion which we hope will enable members to shape the direction of the youth justice project and discuss joint working. The Young P eople’s Task Group have been delegated to take this work forward. Actions Required 3. To raise any key points in the discussion period on how the LGA can work jointly with the Howard League on a youth justice project and what role local government can play. 4. To ensure that any recommendations for the direction of the project are delegated to the Young P eople’s Task Group Action by: S uzanne P ayne Contact Officer: S uzanne P ayne, 020 7664 3228, suzanne.payne@ lga.gov.uk

Children and Young People Board Item 1 8 November 2005 Presentation from the How ard League for Penal Reform Summary 1. We have invited the Howard League to give a presentation on their campaign to end the use of prison custody for all children. The charity suggests that if a child has committed such a serious and violent offence and represents a continuing danger they should be held in a local authority secure children's home. 2. Members should consider the presentation in the context of local government and its role in fulfilling the potential of children and young people, and how the LGA can shape its own youth justice project to enable joint working. 3. The Young P eople’s Task Group have been delegated to take this work forward. Background 4. On 7 S eptember 2005, the Children and Young P eople’s board agreed a project to work with the Community S afety Board on youth justice. 5. F ollowing discussions with the Howard League, officers are proposing to change the remit of the project slightly. The original proposal was to focus on the integration of Youth Offending Teams into the Children and Young P eople’s Trust, we have however, decided to take this forward as part of the Youth Green P aper work and focus on a project which we think will aid a fundamental shift from custodial sentencing to community sentencing. The Howard League Campaign 6. The Howard League is running a campaign to end the use of prison custody for all children. The charity suggests that if a child has committed such a serious and violent offence and represents a continuing danger they should be held in a local authority secure children's home. F or all other children, community based sanctions are appropriate, and both the expertise and funding exist within the Youth J ustice Board to deliver this proposal. They think that along with other partners, the LGA could help to take this work forward. 7. The Howard League’s campaign is based on a model developed in Massachusetts US A more than 20 years ago. In the 1980s a newly appointed head of juvenile corrections stopped using prisons and diverted the children into community programmes. It resulted in a long term drop in recidivism. F or many years Hampshire attempted a similar but less structured or high-profile policy of avoiding the use of prison custody for children, led by the magistrates' courts and police that had the same impact.

8. S entences and crime prevention work are funded by the Youth J ustice Board who manage a wide range of programmes for children. 9. The Howard League for P enal R eform wants to work with the LGA on the idea of a pilot region becoming a ‘prison free zone’ for children bringing in the Youth J ustice Board, statutory, voluntary agencies and courts as partners. The role of the LGA 10. The LGA thinks that it can add real value to this project by coordinating key allies, for example NCH, The Children’s S ociety, P rison R eform Trust and Youth J ustice Board, to lobby government to enable a pilot to test the concept of a ‘prison free zone’. 11. As a group of key statutory and community and voluntary organisations we could have considerable influence over government. We know for instance, that the Youth J ustice Board is under pressure from the Home Office to reduce the number of young people in custody and are keen to work with us to explore alternative provision. 12. The project is in its infancy and we would need to carry out some preparatory analysis and testing, for example: research into the success (or failures) of community based provision and the benefits • of local authority secure children's homes; what barriers need to be removed in order that the project is successful; and • discussion on the financial implications, such as pump priming to invest in the • community sentencing market, re-directing funding to local authority budgets and freedom to pool funds. Next steps 13. The LGA are hoping that comments and views following the presentation will give clear direction to officers and the Young P eople Task Group to take forward the Youth J ustice P roject. The Young P eople Task Group is next meeting in November 2005. Implications for Wales 14. Children and Young P eople’s Trust arrangements do not exist in Wales, although they do have similar provision under the seven core aims of ‘Children F irst’, otherwise this paper is applicable to Wales. Financial/Resource Implications 15. P roposed that there will be 1 day a week programme manager/director, 2 days a week senior project officer from the Children and Young P eople Team and 1 day a week project officer from the S afer Communities Team. Contact Officer: S uzanne P ayne, 020 7664 3228, suzanne.payne@ lga.gov.uk