Youth Offending

Thursday 23rd February 2012, Strand Palace - London, 08:45 - 16:00

Youth Offending: Early Intervention, Effective Rehabilitation

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Overview

Youth offending is a serious issue that threatens many communities and families. The disorder in August this year sparked a national debate over the future of youth justice policies, service provision and sentencing. The youth justice system needs to be effectively targeted and tailored in order to improve outcomes for children and young people, address the root causes of youth violence and crime, and rehabilitate young persons to prevent re-offending.

The government’s Green Paper, 'Breaking the Cycle: Effective Punishment, Rehabilitation and Sentencing of Offenders' (December 2010), proposed radical reforms for breaking the repetitive cycle of crime in prison. At the heart of the reforms is offender rehabilitation, to enable young people to tackle health and social problems, and provide targeted local support to help young people into constructive employment and training. There is an emphasis on moving away from heavy-handed prison sentences to restorative justice approaches.

Following the riots in August, the Home Secretary Theresa May led a review into the growing problem of gangs and gang violence. ‘Ending Gang and Youth Violence: A Cross – Government Report’ published on 1 November 2011, examined the scale of the problem of gang and youth violence, analysed its causes, and identified what needs to be done by government and other agencies to stop the violence and turn around the lives of those involved. Young people at risk of being drawn into gangs and violence will be targeted at every stage of their lives – from toddlers to teenagers. To prevent the next generation of gang members, the government will develop a comprehensive approach targeting young people at risk of being drawn into gangs and violence.

Agenda

This discursive forum will offer delegates the opportunity to examine the future for youth justice services, as well as discuss strategies for preventing gang crime, and ways of involving young people in restorative justice approaches. Delegates will also hear from best-practice case studies that will highlight effective programmes to support young offenders into work and help young people at risk of falling into a cycle of offending.

08:45	Coffee and Registration
09:30	Chairs Welcome and Address Roma Hooper, Director, Make Justice Work (CONFIRMED)
09:40	Opening Keynote: Breaking the Cycle of Youth Offending Developing a partnership approach to tackling youth offending: the importance of youth offending teams, police, probation, education, health and community services delivering joined-up services Strategies to encourage young people to engage positively with their community through a rehabilitation revolution Reducing youth offending through early intervention Improving the prospects of young people through education and training opportunities Alternatives to youth custody – a move towards rigorous community sentencing How will August's riots impact on the future youth justice policy? Future funding for youth justice services Reconfiguring the secure estate for children and young people Michelle Dyson, Deputy Director, Youth Justice Policy, Ministry of Justice and John Drew, Chief Executive, Youth Justice Board (CONFIRMED)
10:15	Questions and Answers Session
10:30	Managing Gang Activity in the Community How police, youth offending teams and young offender institutions deal with gangs and gang-related crime Developing and implementing local coordinated approaches Focusing on rehabilitation, safe release and resettlement Preventative approaches - supporting criminal justice and community agencies in tackling the root causes of gang activity Providing targeted support to address the involvement of young women in gangs Improving relevant practice guidance, training and joint working opportunities Liz Calderbank, HM Chief Inspector of Probation (CONFIRMED)
10:50	Questions and Answers Session
11:10	Coffee and Networking
11:35	Transforming Lives Through Work Changing the lives of excluded and marginalised young people through work Helping participants overcome barriers to employment, training, education and work experience opportunities Supporting young people who have been involved in gangs Best-practice for delivering support – 1:1 mentoring and group activities Case study: gang violence reduction in Lambeth In-2 Work partnership with the Metropolitan Police - supporting young people to disengage from criminal activity and build positive lives through work and training Funding for the programme Jan Tomlinson, Enterprise Director, Tomorrow’s People (CONFIRMED)
11:55	Case Study: Supporting Young Women Offenders at Risk into Work Breaking the cycle of offending and disadvantage Helping participants overcome barriers to employment, training, education and work experience opportunities Supporting young women who have been involved in gangs Best-practice for delivering support – 1:1 mentoring and group activities Funding for the programme Jocelyn Hillman, Founder and Chief Executive, Working Chance, Restorative Recruitment (CONFIRMED)
12:15	Questions and Answers Session
12:35	Lunch and Networking
13:35	Afternoon Keynote: Making Amends - Restorative Justice as an Alternative for Young People Using restorative justice approaches following the disorder in August Providing opportunities for young offenders to do something positive to repair damage to individuals or communities Improving the use of restorative justice in community resolution to better tackle low-level crime Working with the Ministry of Justice to develop a framework that supports local practitioners Establishing guidance and practice standards for youth offending teams, probation and prisons Lizzie Nelson, Director, Restorative Justice Council (CONFIRMED)
13:55	Case Study: Intensive Intervention Pilots Relationships as a driver for change The value of persistent and assertive key working to reach the most vulnerable young people and families that other projects could not reach The value of a flexible holistic family approach Using discretionary budgets to support individual support plans Cost benefits achieved through the model Tom Sackville, Assistant Director Delivery and Development, Catch 22 (CONFIRMED)
14:15	Questions and Answers Session
14:35	Coffee and Networking
14:55	Case Study: Adapting the Service to a Changing Landscape – Barking and Dagenham Achieving excellent results in safeguarding young offenders and reducing re-offending rates Managing the use of custody Working in partnership with parents, police, probation, education, health and community services Delivering value for money and efficiencies Working with the local crime reduction strategy to reduce youth crimes Jonathan Taylor, Youth Offending Team Manager, Barking and Dagenham (CONFIRMED)
15:15	Case Study: Working Directly with Gangs - GangsLine and the Work of Targeted Against Gangs Sheldon Thomas, Director, GangsLine (CONFIRMED)
15:35	Questions and Answers Session
15:50	Chairs Summary
16:00	Close of Conference

*programme subject to change without notice

Audience

Delegates will include youth offending team managers, police, probation officers, youth and community workers, managers of youth offender institutions, children’s services managers, truancy liaison officers, teachers, youth justice policy officers, local criminal justice board members, careers advisors, and will be drawn from central and local government, community organisations and the voluntary sector.