Bath and North East Somerset

Youth Justice Plan

Annual Plan 2003 - 2004

SECTION A

Introduction

This is the fourth Youth Justice Plan for Bath and North East Somerset, produced in accordance with Section 40 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. It provides an update on the three year Plan for 2002/2005, reporting on progress against national performance measures and reconviction rates, and outlining how key issues will be taken forward in 2003/2004. It also sets out how the Local Authority's statutory work of preventing youth offending will be resourced and monitored, in partnership with the Police, Probation and Health Services.

SUMMARY

The last year has seen significant expansion and development of the work of the Youth Offending Team and its partners. This has included the introduction of mandatory Referral Orders for first-time offenders, in April 2002 and the Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme for prolific young offenders, in September 2002. Both of these Youth-Justice Board - funded projects have included the appointment of new staff bringing new skills and expertise to the team.

Significant progress has been made towards meeting a number of performance measures - in four of the thirteen areas we are already exceeding the targets for 2003 and in a number of other measures, we are making very good progress. Of concern however, is the high re-offending rate of young people subject to community penalties and the increasing use of the secure estate for remands and custodial sentences. Whilst the majority of young people coming to Police attention do not re-offend, there is a significant minority of young people living in Bath and North East Somerset at high risk of re-offending or already offending persistently. Not surprisingly, these young people re more likely to have experience of public care, difficulties in or exclusion from school, unsettled family arrangements and inconsistent parenting, and a range of other factors known to increase their risk of offending. Therefore the priorities for the year ahead are:-

· Development of the new Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme for persistent young offenders and the quality of offence-focused work undertaken.

· Work with the Children's Fund partnership to develop a multi-agency panel to agree action plans or other responses to support young people involved in disorderly behaviour or at high risk of offending.

· Development of the Restorative Justice work of the team and its partners, with a particular focus on the involvement of direct victims and other people affected by youth crime.

Approval

Table A: Chief Officer Approval of the Youth Justice Plan.

SECTION B

Prevention Strategy

A significant number of vulnerable young people may not receive help to achieve their potential because they do not meet the existing thresholds of statutory and other services. Some of these young people's circumstances place them at high risk of offending and a small number may make decisions which lead them to commit offences. The Youth Justice Board has published research Youth Justice Board Research Note No 5, Communities that Care, November 2001, which strengthens the case that early intervention with these young people can effectively reduce that risk, building on protective factors and supporting them to make positive choices. Local Authority Chief Executives have been asked to take the lead in establishing Identification, Referral and Tracking systems for all vulnerable young people and in ensuring that all agencies providing services for young people work together to develop and agree a local preventative strategy. Youth Offending Teams have a key role to play in this work, which will be developing during 2003.

Locally, concerns were raised about unacceptable levels of youth disorder and criminal behaviour in South Bath during the Summer of 2001. An inter-agency group met to consider how to enhance the ability of all agencies to respond in a co-ordinated manner and to agree on broader-based approaches to prevent youth disorder. The Council approved recommendations made in five broad areas:-

1. Establishment of mechanisms for early and appropriate intervention and preventative work with young people at risk.

2. Improvement of support for parents and encouragement for vulnerable parents to access services.

3. Empowerment of young people and the wider community to tackle issues of concern, to build confidence and offer protection against intimidation.

4. Tackle misuse of alcohol and drugs by young people.

5. Co-ordination and accountability by all agencies.

This work of tackling youth disorder and preventing offending is being taken forward by the Children and Young People's Strategic Partnership. This will include the appointment of a Youth Crime Prevention Co-ordinator, funded by the Community Safety Partnership under the Safer Communities Initiative. The same Partnership also has oversight of the Children's Fund, twenty-five per cent of which has now been earmarked for services, jointly agreed with the Youth Offending Team, which have the specific aim of preventing the involvement of children aged 5 - 13 in crime and anti-social behaviour. The Partnership is planning to use this funding to introduce Youth Inclusion and Support Panels.

These multi-agency Panels receive referrals of young people considered at high risk of offending (and possibly also at risk of school exclusion) and agree voluntary actions plans to reduce the risk. The Children's Fund will be used to employ staff to work directly with these young people, particularly to promote their participation in education, training and employment, and to support their parents. The Panels will be organised by the Youth Crime Prevention Co-ordinator. They will make a significant contribution to the Council's Prevention Strategy and they will be able to inform the establishment of Identification, Referral and Tracking systems in the future.

SECTION C

Governance and resources

Table B: Membership of the Responsible Authorities Group

This group meets approximately eight times each year and is the chief officer group responsible for the Community Safety Partnership, the Youth Offending Team, the Drug Action Team and the Partnership against Racial Harassment.

Table C: Services planned for the financial year 2003/2004

Table D: Youth Offending Team Budget Financial Year 2003/2004 - Sources

Table E: Additional sources of income

Table F: Pooled budget

Table G: Health Service contributions to the Youth Offending Teams

This table enables a breakdown by source of Health Service funding.

community penalties and custodial penalties.

Data:

Actions to achieve the target

The target is fully achieved. This is to be maintained by continuing:-

· To monitor completion through staff supervision.

· Periodic audit of reports to focus on ASSET completion and links with supervision plan.

Constraints

Although the total number of annual notifications remains steady, the caseloads in the Youth Offending Team are rising, because of the effect of legislation.

It is difficult to access information from schools during holiday periods.

Links to agency partners.

Protocol discussions with Social Services about acceptance of ASSET as an initial assessment under the national Assessment Framework.

Links to allied themes

Improving matching of ASSET scores with planned interventions.

Learning and development actions

ASSET training to be part of induction for all new staff, even those with Youth Offending Team experience.

MEASURE 9: Pre-Sentence Reports

Target:

Data:

Actions to achieve the target

· Prioritise initial training plans across the team rather than just with caseholders, to ensure that the Youth Offending Team is represented at all planning meetings.

· Maintain a local system for monitoring the timeliness and quality of the plans.

· Allocate caseholders to nominated institutions to maximise contacts.

Constraints

Closure of HMP and YOI Ashfield to sentenced young people means that most Bath and North East Somerset young people will serve their Detention and Training Orders more than 50 miles from home - and from the Youth Offending Team office, making visits more time consuming and difficult to schedule.

Links to agency partners

Ensure co-operative planning with Social Services with regard to Looked After Children.

Links to allied themes

Reducing the use of the secure estate (Measure 4)

Learning and development actions

Supporting more staff to become involved in planning meetings.

MEASURE 11: Education, Training and Employment.

Target:

Data:

Actions to achieve the target

The Youth Offending Team has had a named Accommodation and Support Worker from the outset.

· Continue to highlight issues for young people who offend, at inter-agency planning groups.

· Complete work on the Accommodation Policy for young people who have offended, with particular attention paid to options for young people released from custody.

Constraints

Bath and North East Somerset is an area of high cost housing, compounded by high demand from tourism and two institutions of higher education; there is very little affordable provision for teenagers wishing to live independently.

Links to agency partners

HMP and YOI Ashfield's survey of accommodation provision.

Multi-agency Task Group for Care Leavers and Young Homeless and Support Network for 16-19 year-olds.

Links to allied themes

Supporting People initiatives and pan Avon and Somerset interest in provision of specialist accommodation for 16-17 year olds with complex needs.

Learning and development actions

Observation exchanges between Youth Offending Team and Homeless Team.

Team development event on accommodation issues.

MEASURE 13: Mental Health.

Target:-

All young people, by 2004, who are assessed by ASSET, as manifesting:-

· Acute mental health difficulties to be referred by Youth Offending Teams to the Child and Mental Health Service (CAMHS) for a formal assessment commencing within five working days of the receipt of the referral with a view to their accessing a tier three service or other appropriate CAMHS tier service based on this assessment.

· Non-acute mental health concerns to be referred by the Youth Offending Teams for an assessment, and engagement by the appropriate CAMHS tier (1-3) commenced within 15 working days.

Data:

Actions to achieve the target

· Work with CAMHS to explore how the development of new generic Mental health Worker posts can support the work of Health Professionals in the Youth Offending Team.

· Ensure that substance misuse screening is provided for all young people known to the Youth Offending Team.

Constraints

Delays in obtaining psychiatric assessments for Court.

Links to agency partners

New mental health Public Service Agreement target to "improve life outcomes of adults and children with mental health problems through year on year improvements in access to crisis and CAMHS services, and reduce the mortality rate for services and undetermined injury by at least 20% by 2010".

Shared Drug and Alcohol Nurse post within CAMHS, providing 0.5fte worker time in the Youth Offending Team.

Links to allied themes

Allocation of additional funding to develop year on year improvements to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services - guidance issued under the Department of Health Service Circular and Local Authority Circular sets out that youth justice issues are one of the key target groups for funding during 2002/2004.

Learning and development actions

Introduction of the Mental Health Screening Assessment in mid 2003.

SECTION E

Learning and Development

The local Youth Offending Team's policy on Staff Supervision and Annual Reviews and Training sets out a clear commitment to supporting and developing staff, including a standard that each member should receive a minimum of five days' training each year. The Youth Justice Board will be introducing a nationally accredited Learning and Development Programme during 2003. This will include modules to ensure all practitioners are competent in effective practice and have opportunity to study for recognised qualifications. A consortium of Youth Offending Teams in the South West region, together with local secure establishments, will work together to arrange the training. The team will continue to make in-house training available, drawing on the expertise of team members, and commission specialist services. More focused use of team meetings and team development mornings, and exploration of the potential for group peer supervision, will continue.

Training Plan

For Youth Offending Team and Partners 2003/2004

Youth Justice Plan - Checklist