Youth Crime

Thursday February 26th 2009, Central London, 09:10 - 16:05

The Youth Crime Action Plan: Tackling Youth Crime Through Partnership

The Government alone cannot tackle youth crime effectively, parents, citizens and communities must play their part. We will improve the support we offer to young people and parents to deal with problems – setting clear boundaries but offering help to those who stay on the right side of the line and make the effort to turn things around.

We will use every method available and work widely across Government, the third sector and society as a whole to support the majority, while also being tough on the minority who persistently cause problems for others."

Rt. Hon Jacqui Smith, Home Secretary, Youth Crime Action Plan, July 2008

Overview

Are the Criminal Justice System (CJS) and, in particular, the Youth Justice System (YJS) delivering justice for all? Is the YJS operating as effectively as it might to prevent youth offending and to rehabilitate young prisoners to reduce re-offending? Furthermore, following the Minister of Justice, David Hansen’s announcement in July that youth re-offending rates for the period 2005 – 2011are reduced by 10% by 2011, how, if at all, are the provisions related to youth justice in the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act, which became law in July 2008, assisting this process?

The latest crime figures indicate that not only are the government’s crime and justice policies working but that both the Criminal Justice System (CJS) and the Youth Justice System (YJS) are working effectively. The 2007-2008 Home Office annual crime report shows that crime has fallen 48% since 1995 and, the latest police-recorded crime figures for England and Wales show a fall of 9% on the previous year.

However, despite this very welcome news regarding annual and long-term crime trends in the UK, a series of fatal knife attacks in London, anti-social behaviour; prison overcrowding and, the use of curfews in some of our towns and cities has triggered a national debate about: sentencing policies; youth violence; the development of effective, comprehensive and coordinated strategies that cut-across government department boundaries to prevent young people from offending or re-offending; and, how our society perceives, values, cares for and educates young people.

The purpose of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act is to make sentencing decisions clearer and to provide courts with new powers to provide community-based alternatives to custody such as the generic community sentence, the Youth Rehabilitation Order as well as the Youth Conditional Caution and, Referral and Youth Default Orders.

Despite the levels of investment in the CJS and YJS since 2000 and official crime figures recording a fall in crime, the fear of crime is increasing.

Agenda

This forum will examine the contribution the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act to crime reduction, the development of effective policies and, comprehensive and coordinated strategies to cut youth offending and re-offending rates and, the way in which we our society perceives, values, cares for and educates young people.

09:10	Registration and Coffee
09:50	Chair’s Opening Remarks Graham Beech, Director of marketing and communications, Rainer Crime Concern (invited)
10:00	Tackling Youth Crime Through Partnership Re-balancing the justice system: understanding the needs of victims of crime: Making greater use of community sentences, restorative justice and citizen panels Youth Crime Action Plan – early intervention: Protecting the public reducing youth re-offending rates further through the coordinated, cross-government provision of services to meet our obligations under Every Child Matters Youth Taskforce Action Plan - ‘Triple track’ enforcement Local involvement: positive activities for young people grant Parenting Early Intervention Projects Tackling Gangs Action Programme Education and training programmes David Hanson MP, Minister of State for Schools and Learners, Ministry of Justice (invited)
10:20	Reducing Youth Re-offending Rates of re-offending: a clearer picture Comparative analysis: who’s doing what where? Wiring-up youth justice: how has this strategy assisted planning, strategy and implementation? 2008-2011 strategy to reduce re-offending: alternatives to custody Brendan Finegan, Director of Strategy, Youth Justice Board (invited)
10:40	Reducing Re-offending Rates Through Collaborative Action Reducing re-offending rates through early intervention : Identifying young people most at risk of exclusion or, susceptible to joining a gang Health management: drug and alcohol rehabilitation facilities Strengthening neighbourhood policing Working with teachers, social and youth workers, sports clubs, police and, church and community leaders to raise aspirations Diversionary activities: working with partner organisations to improve library, sporting, leisure and social facilities Protecting communities: critical engagement with young offenders through community sentencing and restorative justice Cllr Alan Sioa Ming Witherick, Deputy-Chair, Safer Communities Board, Local Government Association (invited)
11:00	Working in Partnership to Reduce Re-offending Offender management: where and how the government can do more to assist offenders Key success factors to reduce re-offending Facilitation services: understanding the needs and aspirations of offenders and their families Providing support services: Equipping offenders with key life-skills Housing and support services to explain how the welfare and social care systems work Household economics: improving cooking skills and budget-management Providing and improving parenting skills Offering education and skills training Jackie Worrall, Director of Policy and Public Affairs, NACRO
11:25	Coffee Break and Networking
11:45	Questions and Answers Session
12:45	Lunch and Networking
13:45	Reducing Youth Re-offending Through Early Intervention Programmes Strengthening multi-agency working: key to reduce re-offending: Intensive in-reach and out-reach work with persistent offenders and their families Working with local authorities, police, schools and other agencies to prevent first-time offenders become persistent offenders Preventing anti-social behaviour by engaging with young people Comparative analysis: strategies used to tackle youth re-offending in other European countries Future directions and the Youth Crime Action Plan Mike Thomas, Chair, Association of Youth Offending Team Managers (invited)
14:10	Sentencing Policy and Youth Offender Management Strategy Custodial sentences: rethinking the alternative Implementation is key: early intervention programmes require better managed and coordinated action Reducing re-offending rates: providing, structured, tailored rehabilitation programmes to meet specific education, health and recreational requirements of each client Penelope Gibbs, Director of Strategy to reduce child and youth imprisonment, Prison Reform Trust
14:30	Youth Offenders and the Magistrates Courts How and, to what degree are custodial sentences effective means of changing the behavior of young offenders? Sentencing guidelines: what are the alternatives to a custodial sentencing?: How effective are they? Have they received widespread support from professionals? What are the best ways to rehabilitate offenders? Senior representative, Magistrates Association (invited)
14:50	Rebuilding Confidence in the Criminal Justice System Rebuilding confidence in the CJS: Meeting the needs of victims of crime and working with the local communities to reduce crime Partnering with schools to increase the knowledge of young people about the criminal justice system and engage with them to develop credible initiatives to help to reduce youth crime Positive futures: youth strategy to reduce youth re-offending rates: Coordinated action to resolve resettle matters before offenders are released Better supervision and support for offenders during an after they have served their sentence Ensure offenders understand how to access key services Persistent youth offenders to receive speedier justice Senior representative, London Criminal Justice Board (invited)
15:10	Questions and Answers Session
16:00	Chair's Summary and Conclusions
16:05	Close

*programme subject to change without notice

Audience

Delegates will include Youth Offending Team managers, solicitors from the public and private sectors, elected members, Police, probation officers, youth and community workers, managers of youth offender institutions, police authority members, housing officers, children’s services managers, truancy liaison officers, teachers, policy and strategy officers, local criminal justice board members, members of chambers of commerce, architects, planners, PCT representatives, careers advisors, trade unions representatives and think-tanks.