Family Policy Digest

The Use of Restraint in Secure Training Centres

Joint Committee on Human Rights

The Committee views current UK law, allowing the use of 'distraction techniques' which cause deliberate pain in Secure Training Centres, as an unacceptable contravention of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. It welcomes the Government's suspension of two restraint techniques in December 2007 and recommends abolition of all distraction techniques without delay. It suggests a series of specific measures to ensure compliance of Secure Training Centres with human rights standards, including amendments to their contracts, staff training and provision of information on restraint to detained children and their families.

The report is available from the Committee website.

There has also been a ministerial statement on the progress of the review into the use of restraint, available from the Ministry of Justice website.

March 2008

child mental health, youth justice

Improving health, supporting justice: a consultation

This consultation is a joint initiative between the Department of Health, Department of Children, Schools and Families, Ministry of Justice, Youth Justice Board and the Home Office, with the aim of improving health and social care services for people subject to the criminal justice system, including children and young people in contact with the youth justice system.

The consultation is available from the DH website and the deadline for responses is 4 March 2008.

November 2007

Independent review into the use of restraint in child custody

New rules governing the use of restraint in secure training centres (STCs) have been passed in the House of Lords (The Secure Training Centre (Amendment) Rules 2007). The amended rules permit restraint "for the purposes of ensuring good order and discipline". This considerably widens the circumstances in which staff can use force including the use of painful nose, rib and thumb "distractions".

The Government has also announced a joint review on the use of restraint on children in custody, across the Home Office and the Department for Children, Schools and Families. The review will be led by an independent chair and should report within six months of the chair being appointed.

The Lords debate is available on Hansard.

July 2007

Proposed changes to increase the use of physical restraint in secure training centres

The Ministry of Justice has laid before Parliament The Secure Training Centre (Amendment) Rules 2007, which would increase the occasions on which painful physical restraint could be used on young people in custody. Currently this is only allowed where the young person may harm themselves or others or cause significant damage to custody. These rules are to be changed to allow restraint for the purpose of "ensuring good order and discipline".

More information is available on the website of the Howard League for Penal Reform.

June 2007

Family services (1)

Make me a criminal: preventing youth crime

J Margo; Institute for Public Policy Research

This report makes the case for a more therapeutic and family-based approach to youth offending. It highlights the need for improvements in socialising norms of behaviour at a universal level; in targeting at-risk groups, and in dealing with young offenders. The report's recommendations are wide-ranging.

The report is available on the IPPR website.

February 2008

General (2)

British crime survey

Home Office

The Home Office has released an experimental version of its crime figures aimed at giving a clearer picture of how young victims are affected by their ordeal. This shows that while there were 2.1 million incidents in total during 2009 where a 10- to 15-year-old was a victim of a crime, about half of these were minor incidents, such as stealing dinner money in a school playground. In only 404,000 cases did the young person see themselves as a victim of a crime. The figures are also broken down further to show that the majority of incidents happened within school and were handled by senior school staff without court or police involvement. Just 643,000 incidents occurred outside school, the figures reveal. The government has launched a consultation around this experimental approach to releasing crime figures.

The report, Experimental statistics on victimisation of children aged 10 to 15: Findings from the British Crime Survey for the year ending December 2009 - England and Wales, can be downloaded from the Home Office website.

June 2010

Changes to government structures relating to young people and families

The Department for Children, Schools and Families has established a new Youth Taskforce to replace the Respect Taskforce, with a wider remit to improve outcomes for children and young people. The new taskforce will be headed by Anne Weinstock.

A new director general, Lesley Longstone, has been appointed to run the Young People Directorate. A strengthened Families Group is also being established, working alongside the Youth Directorate and Taskforce. Led by Peter Wanless, it will develop the cross-government strategy on families. Louise Casey, who previously headed up the Respect Taskforce, will lead a cross-departmental review on how best to engage communities in the fight against crime.

The Secretary of State also confirmed that the Department for Children, Schools and Families would provide on-going funding of up to £18 million over the next three years to sustain the recently established network of 53 Family Intervention Projects.

More information is available from the DCSF website.

October 2007

educational achievement, youth justice, inequality

Schools (1)

Educational inequality and juvenile crime: an area-based analysis

R Sabates, L Feinstein and A Shingal; Department for Children, Schools and Families

This paper analyses the relationship between juvenile crime and educational inequality, using conviction rates and maths Key Stage 3 scores across areas. Controlling for other variables, there was found to be evidence of a relationship between educational inequality and juvenile conviction rates for violent crime, but not property-related crime.

The report is available from the DCSF website.

February 2008

Young people (19)

Time for a Fresh Start

The Independent Commission on Youth Crime and Antisocial Behaviour

The Commission's report focuses on the use of restorative justice – requiring young offenders to face up to the harm they have caused their victims and to make amends and places this at the heart of wide-ranging reform proposals. The Commission, which conducted an in-depth study of alternatives to the existing response to youth crime in England and Wales, concludes that restorative meetings known as 'youth conferencing' are the way to deliver better justice for the victims of crime, while cutting reoffending rates and reducing the number of young people who end up in prison. The report estimates the public service costs of dealing with youth crime and antisocial behaviour as more than £4 billion a year. It also argues that many millions of pounds are being wasted each year on custody for the under-18s. The Commission sets a target for the current use of custody to be halved to fewer than a thousand young offenders at any one time without adding to crime rates and compromising public safety. And it urges a significant reinvestment of resources in early intervention to tackle seriously antisocial behaviour among children, prevent later offending and save more money for the taxpayer.

The report can be downloaded from the Commission's website.

July 2010

youth justice, anti-social behaviour

Youth crime action plan - Update

Department for Children, Schools and Families

The Youth Crime Action Plan (YCAP) targets the small minority of young people who commit crime and use violence. It was launched in 2008, backed by £100m of additional funding, and is intended to offer a comprehensive approach across enforcement, support and challenge for young people and families, and prevention. This update outlines the progress and achievements of the Youth Crime Action Plan since 2008 and provides case studies of where YCAP work has been brought together. It also provides next steps to take the YCAP forward.

The update can be downloaded from the DCSF website.

April 2010

Safeguarding the future

Department for Children, Schools and Families

This review examines, for the first time since the board was set up in 1998, at the governance and operating arrangements of the Youth Justice Board (YJB). 1998. Since then, the policy and delivery landscape in which the YJB operates has changed significantly. It concludes that although progress has been made across a number of areas, further improvements in outcomes are needed and to achieve this, the YJB needs to respond to the changed environment in which it operates. The report sets out a series of recommendations, addressing the YJB's role, relationships, powers and levers, the part it plays in the key stages a young person goes through as they journey through the criminal justice system and how all this can be delivered in a way that maximises value for money to the taxpayer. It examines the role, relationships, powers and levers of the YJB; the part it plays in delivering public protection and confidence; and its role for offenders. It also looks at how the YJB can and should achieve better value for money.

The report can be downloaded from the DCSF website.

March 2010

young people, youth justice

Locking up or giving up? Why custody thresholds for teenagers aged 12, 13 and 14 need to be raised

Barnado's

The study of children aged 12, 13 and 14 years old who have served a custodial sentence, has found that more than a third of them should not have been put behind bars, when judged against the Government's own criteria. The law states children aged 14 and under should not be sent to custody unless they have committed a grave offence or have committed a serious offence and are deemed to be a persistent offender. But Barnardo's examination of the cases of 214 children - 46 per cent of those in this age group sent to custody in 2007/08 - found that more than a third did not meet this criterion but were still incarcerated. That suggests that 170 children in England and Wales should not have been put behind bars that year. More than 20 per cent had been sent to custody for breaching a community order such as a supervision or anti social behaviour order. The study also reveals that:

just under half the children locked up had been abused
more than a third were living with a known offender
38 per cent had witnessed violence in their family
8 per cent had attempted suicide
the likelihood of being sent to custody varied significantly by postcode.

The report can be found on the Barnado's website.

August 2009

youth justice, children's rights

Consultation: Safeguarding Children and Young People who may be affected by Gang Activity

Department for Children, Schools and Families

This draft supplementary guidance is intended to help agencies and professionals ensure that the safeguarding process responds effectively to the needs of children and young people who are at risk of gang-related violence and harm. It should be used in conjunction with, the Government's statutory guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children (2006).

The consultation is available from the DCSF website. The deadline for responses is 19 June 2009.

March 2009

Consultation: Youth Conditional Caution Code of Practice for 16 and 17 Year Olds

Department for Children, Schools and Families

Conditional cautions were introduced in the Criminal Justice Act 2003 for adult offenders, and the government is looking to pilot the extension of conditional cautions to 16- and 17-year-olds in 2009.
It will offer an alternative option to court referral in cases where the young offender has either committed an offence that cannot be suitably dealt with using reprimand or warning, or where the offender has already used up the options available under the Reprimand and Warning Scheme.
As specified by the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008, the code of practice will govern the use of the youth conditional cautions.

The consultation is available from the DCSF website. The deadline for responses is 25 May 2009.

March 2009

youth justice, anti-social behaviour

Dying to belong: An in-depth review of street gangs in Britain

Centre for Social Justice

This report on gang culture in Britain covers:

The immediate response to prevent violence and break up gangs
Medium-term proposals for building trust and positive relations between the police and young people
A long-term approach to prevent future generations of young people from becoming gang-involved.

The report can be downloaded from the Centre for Social Justice website.

February 2009

Piloting penalty notices for disorder on 10- to 15-year-olds

J Amadi; Ministry of Justice

This report provides an overview of the use of Penalty Notices for Disorder (PNDs) for 10- to 15- year-olds in six pilot forces. Over 4,400 of these fines were issued, almost all in two of the pilot areas. The majority were for theft; causing harassment, alarm or distress; or for destroying or damaging property. There is some concern that the PND scheme for young people is punishing parents/guardians and not offenders, however views from both police and young people suggest that it may catch young people who offend early and deter them from future offending without any serious consequences or long-term implications. Another concern was that the scheme should be more equitable so that poorer families were not punished more.

The report is available from the Ministry of Justice website.

November 2008

Youth Crime Action Plan funding announced

A group of 69 local authority areas have been selected to receive £700,000 each for measures to tackle youth crime, such as after-school patrols and street-based teams . All local authorities in England will receive funding from the plan, including 20 local authorities which will get an extra £100,000 this year to expand Family Intervention Projects.

More information is available from the DCSF website.

September 2008

Reports from seminar on developing guidelines for child-friendly justice

Council of Europe

The seminar, which was held as part of the Council of Europe's child rights strategy meeting, aimed to identify principles of child friendly justice. Export reports were presented on 'Achievements in taking children's rights further in civil justice'; 'Crossing boundaries in the administration of children's justice'; and 'Victims or perpetrators, the necessity of adapting to children's needs'.

The reports are available from the Child Rights Information Network website.

September 2008

Summary justice: fast - but fair?

R Morgan; Centre for Crime and Justice Studies

This report raises concerns that the trend towards pre-court summary justice for a range of offences, and the use of targets for offences brought to justice which do not take account of the severity of the offence. The aggregate number of children and young people criminalised by either pre-court or court interventions has increased hugely in recent years. While this may mean that more geniune offenders are being brought to justice, it is also suggested that reprimands, final warnings or PNDs are bringing young people into the criminal justice system in circumstances where informal warnings or controls may have previously have been as effective. Although Home Office targets have now been amended to take account of some of these concerns, the report suggests that there should be ongoing scrutiny of this trend.

The report can be downloaded from the Centre's website.

August 2008

youth justice, anti-social behaviour

Youth Crime Action Plan

Home Office

This strategy is accompanied by £100 million extra funding for measures including:

expanding provision of youth centres and other activities at times when young people are likely to offend, including Friday and Saturday nights;
making permanent exclusion from school an automatic trigger to a comprehensive assessment of needs;
allowing judges and magistrates to name greater numbers of guilty 16 and 17 year olds.
increasing the proportion of ASBOs accompanied by a parenting order;
improving the engagement of parents in the youth justice system including requiring them to come to court;
expanding Family Intervention Projects to 20,000 families;
a new duty on local authorities to fund and commission education of young offenders in custody;
developing a more comprehensive package of support for young people leaving custody;
additional funding to continue Intensive Fostering in existing pilot areas, as an alternative to custody; and
expansion of Family Nurse Partnerships;

The report is available from the Home Office website.

July 2008

Criminal damage: Why we should lock up fewer children

Prison Reform Trust

The UK locks up a higher proportion of under-18s than any other western European country. This report argues that custody for children is harsh, ineffective and expensive and should be used only for those convicted of violent crimes who present a real physical threat to their community. Proposals for doing this include:

transferring the child detention budget to local authorities to give them more incentive to invest in effective alternatives
reducing the number of children remanded in custody
ending imprisonment for those under 14
getting local authorities to prevent so many looked-after children ending up in custody.
expanding intensive fostering as an alternative to custody

The report is available from the Prison Reform Trust website.

June 2008

Ten years of Labour's youth justice reforms: an independent audit

E Solomon and R Garside; Centre for Crime and Justice Studies

This report makes an independent assessment of the government's youth justice reforms. Ten years on from the 1998 Crime and Disorder Act and the creation of youth offending teams and the Youth Justice Board, it considers the impact of the radical restructuring. The report states that many important goals have not been achieved: reducing youth crime and reoffending, reducing the use of custody and meeting the needs of those in custody.

It also states that there has been a substantial increase in expenditure on youth justice, but a relatively small amount spent on prevention projects compared to custody, despite a significant amount of this funding having been drawn from 'social', rather than criminal justice, budgets. The authors argue that more effective solutions may be found outside the youth justice system in the delivery of co-ordinated services through mainstream local authority children's and young people's provision and more effective children's services.

The report is available from www.crimeandjustice.org.uk.

May 2008

Restorative justice to be piloted for young offenders

A new scheme to deal with first time young offenders (between 10 and 17) who have committed a minor offence will be piloted early next year. The scheme aims to stop them going to court unnecessarily, while at the same time ensuring that they make amends for their offence via an apology to the victim, which could be given in either oral or written form.

More information is available from the Ministry of Justice website.

December 2007

Launch of joint youth justice unit

The Joint Youth Justice Unit will merge the responsibilities of the former Ministry of Justice Youth Justice and Children Unit and those of the Young Offender Education Team of the Offenders Learning and Skills Unit of the former DFES.

The Unit will also sponsor the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales. It will continue to oversee early intervention and prevention programmes delivered via the Youth Justice Board through Youth Offending Teams and have responsibility for policy in relation to children and young people in the out-of-court system, those on community sentences and in custody. It will continue to oversee policy on resettlement and reducing youth re-offending.

More information is available from the Ministry of Justice website.

November 2007

Groups, gangs and weapons

Youth Justice Board

This research from the Youth Justice Board found that teenagers could gravitate towards gangs and group violence as a result of poor family relationships, exclusion from school, absence of positive role models and a lack of youth facilities. It also found that:

Mislabelling of youth groups as gangs runs the risk of glamourising them and may even encourage young people to become involved in more serious criminal behaviour.
Where there is serious group offending and gang activity, young adults are likely to be leading this.
Group offending is a complex and fluid issue and strategies to tackle it need to be geared to local problems.
Young people who carry a knife say they do so to protect themselves rather than with intent to use. Young people who have been the victims of crime are more likely to say they have carried a knife.
Young women can be victims of gangs through vulnerability, abuse and exploitation

The summary can be downloaded and the full report ordered from the YJB website.

May 2007

young people, youth justice, safeguarding children,

Debating youth justice: From punishment to problem solving?

Davies and W McMahon (eds); Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, King's College London

A collection of essays and other responses to Rob Allen's paper 'From punishment to problem solving: A new approach to children in trouble'. These debate the proposals in the original paper including raising the age of criminal responsibility to 14, phasing out prison custody for 15 and 16 year olds, and moving responsibility for youth justice to the Department for Education and Skills.

The report can be downloaded from the CCJS website.

May 2007

Anti-Social Behaviour Orders: A summary of research into Anti-Social Behaviour Orders given to young people between January 2004 and January 2005

This research examines the processes leading to the imposition of an ASBO; the perceptions of key professionals and sentencers; the views and experiences of young people who have been subject to an ASBO, and those of their parents/carers. Nearly half of the young people in the sample had been returned to court for breaching their ASBO. Recommendations included greater involvement of Youth Offending Teams in the decision-making process to ensure that all options were fully explored, and restricting the number of prohibitions to the minimum necessary to increase compliance.

A summary can be downloaded, and the full report ordered from the Youth Justice Board website.

November 2006