1 Plymouth Youth Justice Plan 2012-13
Welcome message from author
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
1
Plymouth Youth
Justice Plan
2012-13
2
Item Content Page
1. Plymouth Youth Offending Service Pledge 2
2. Executive Summary 3
3. Key Plymouth Crime Information 4
4. Plymouth Partnership Board 4
5. Plymouth Youth Offending Team 5
6. YOT Resources 6
7. Delivery against Key National Indicators 8
8. Delivery against Local Targets 11
9. Activities that Support Key Performance Indicators &
National Standards 17
10. Youth Justice Plan sign off 19
1. Plymouth Youth Offending Team Pledge
We will provide a fair and equitable service that embraces the diversity of young people, the people of Plymouth and its community.
We will improve access to services for young people to divert them from offending and
help them lead happy and productive lives.
We will encourage and support young people to repair the harm they have done to their
victims and communities.
We will encourage young people to have aspirations and support them to make good
decisions and have a successful transition to adulthood.
We will work in partnership with parents and carers in helping them support their young
people make positive change.
We will work in partnerships with other agencies to reduce youth crime and protect the
public.
We will listen and work with victims and communities and will be open and accountable for
our service.
We will work hard to increase public confidence in youth justice.
3
2. Executive Summary
The Plymouth Youth Offending Partnership will need to respond to significant changes in the
coming months with the introduction of the Health and Wellbeing Board (HWBB), Police and
Crime Commissioner (PP&C) and changes within the current economic and political climate in
which we are operating. It is also anticipated that Welfare Reform may have a significant impact
on offending rates within the city. Plymouth City Council and its statutory partners are working
on preparing for these changes by putting in place a range of early intervention and prevention
initiatives to support existing universal and specialist services. The Youth Offending Team
(YOT) will be a key service in the local youth offer to young people in Plymouth.
To assist in this the YOT was relocated within the Homes and Communities (H&C)
department of the People’s Directorate in Plymouth City Council (PCC). This was to ensure
the YOT is aligned to Integrated Youth Services, Community Safety, Social Inclusion, Housing
Services and Community Regeneration. The result is that the youth justice services are now
ideally placed to contribute towards the priorities and challenges for young people in Plymouth.
In the spring 2012, the YOT was part of a national Thematic Inspection in relation to Young
People Who Sexually Offend. Whilst there was no rating applied the feedback received
identified that the service performs well and practice is robust. Participation in the inspection
provided an opportunity for reflection and informed plans and implementation for further
improvement to service delivery.
The YOT key performance targets have been achieved or exceeded and compare favorably
against comparators with the exception of one area of performance, Education, Training and/or
Employment (ETE). Engagement in ETE continues to be a challenge for a group of young people
who are particularly vulnerable in the current economic climate. At a local level, the
Partnership Board recognises the challenges facing young offenders and subsequently has put in
place targets and additional support focused on improving outcomes for these young people.
The Partnership Board has placed Restorative Justice (RJ) as one of their key priorities. The RJ
action plan outlines details to improve, promote and develop long-term RJ initiatives. The Team
also celebrated winning the 2012/13 Howard League National Award for unpaid work,
evidencing excellent RJ innovation.
In relation to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) the
Partnership has already begun reviewing and planning for the implications particularly regarding
remands to Youth Detention Accommodation, Looked After Children (LAC) status, financial
responsibilities and alternatives to custody. This also includes consideration for placement
strategies and a corporate risk register.
The Plymouth Partnership Board remains active in key decision making, performance review
and ensuring partners are all engaged in the delivery of Youth Justice Services including
preventative and early intervention work across the city, and aligns its activities with statutory
and voluntary sector partners strategically across a range of strategic plans , including the city
wide Child Poverty Action Plan .
Funding partners have continued to support Youth Justice Services in the city by prioritising
funding levels with minimal reduction during a very challenging financial period.
4
3. Key Plymouth Crime Information
The Interim Plymouth Report (2012) produced by Plymouth 2020 states that ‘The level of
crime in Plymouth has risen over the last year, driven by increases in acquisitive crime,
domestic and non-domestic burglary and other thefts’. Overall, however, the city remains
relatively safe for a large urban area and is 5th best out of 15, for overall crime levels in its
national comparator group. In 2011/12, there were 21,127 victims of crime, an increase of 3%
over the previous year. Serious acquisitive crime rose by 8%, violence with injury by 3%; while
anti-social behaviour incidents fell by 21% and criminal damage by 1%. Those most at risk from
acquisitive crime tend to live in multi-occupancy dwellings; those most at risk of being a victim
of violence are males aged 18-24. Ten neighbourhoods within the city have considerably higher
levels of crime and Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) and there is a target to close the gap between
these areas and the city as a whole.’
However within youth crime the reducing trend of recent years has continued with the
numbers of young people convicted during 2011/12 falling from 557 in the previous year to 356.
This has also corresponded with a reduction in the number of offences reducing from 1041 to
629. This is a reduction of 36% in numbers of young people over the year with the offence
numbers also having fallen by 39%.
During 2012 the most prevalent crimes were:
2010/11 2011/12
Violence against the person 201 158
Theft & handling 192 124
Public Order 145 87
Criminal damage 129 70
Generally speaking there are more instances of youth offending occurring within the west of
the city including St. Budeaux, Stoke, Stonehouse, Whitleigh, North Prospect, Honicknowle and
Devonport which has the highest rate of youth offending within Plymouth.
During the same period the YOT has received data to indicate that 560 offences received a
Youth Restorative Disposal (YRD). Due to limitations on address information the YOT are
unable to differentiate ‘Plymouth’ young people from our surrounding neighbours. Nevertheless
the YOT are able to identify a re-offending rate of 10.9% from Plymouth records. The YOT has
initiated a project to look at early intervention with these young people and thereby reduce the
numbers who subsequently become a first time entrants.
4. Youth Justice Partnership Board
The Partnership Board membership is made up of a range of statutory and partner agencies
who contribute to the delivery of youth justice, early intervention and preventative services in
the city. Board members also take the lead to champion improvements in services for young
people who offend within their own agencies. The Board receives quarterly updates from the
YOT Manager who reports on performance, service development and considers issues that
need to be resolved in terms of youth justice. The contribution of the wider partnership and
5
scrutiny by the Partnership Board ensures that performance is monitored and the YOT is
supported in the implementation of improvement plans.
The Partnership Board has revised their Terms of Reference (TOR) including membership to
improve the flexibility of the overall structure in response to the changing socio-economic
climate.
The Assistant Director for Homes and Communities has recently taken over the Chairing of
the Partnership Board. This follows a corporate wide restructure of PCC. The YOT has
retained its close connections with Children’s Social Care Services.
Nationally Monitored Targets for Youth Justice;
Rate of Proven re-offending by young people who offend (measured offences per 100 offenders)
First Time Entrants (FTE) to the youth justice system aged 10-17
Young people receiving a conviction in court who are sentenced to custody
Locally Monitored Outcomes for Youth Justice:
Ethnic composition of young people on youth justice system disposals
Access by young people who offend in suitable Education, Employment or Training
Access by young people who offend to suitable accommodation
Participation by victims in Restorative Justice
5. Plymouth Youth Offending Team
Plymouth YOT has the responsibility under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 of coordinating the provision of youth justice services for all those in the authority’s area that need them, with
the principal aim being to prevent and/or reducing offending by children and young people
including:
the provision of an Appropriate Adult Service to safeguard the interests of young people detained or questioned by the police;
The assessment of children and young persons and the supervision and provision of
rehabilitation programmes to prevent offending by young people sentenced to a range
of orders to prevent further reoffending and reduce Risk of Harm (ROH).
The co-ordination of Risk Management and/or Vulnerability Management Plans (RMP,
VMP) for young people.
the provision of support for young people remanded or committed on Bail while awaiting trial or sentence
The provision of reports or other information required by courts in criminal proceedings against children and young people.
6
The responsibility to manage Parenting Orders.
The key principles of the service are that;
The service will provide a fair and equitable service to young people with a focus on risk
management based on rigorous assessments of likelihood of reoffending, risk of harm
and vulnerability.
The service will integrate restorative justice processes across all interventions to ensure that all young people and parents known to the service are aware of the impact of crime
on the victims and take responsibility to make amends for their criminal/anti-social
behaviour.
The service will work systemically with the whole family to address negative patterns of
behaviour that increase the risk of offending.
The YOT is committed to increasing public confidence and with this in mind has developed a
website that is being promoted through the Plymouth City Council promotional activities and
presentations. Neighbourhood Liaison meetings will be used to promote the use of RJ and to
offer reparation in the city localities. The service will also actively promote good news stories
through the local press and national communications.
The YOT is supported by a network of partnerships, plans and coordinated activities. There are
several Plymouth partnership plans and strategies that support or are supported by the YOT, however, many of these are currently under review or change in response to national and local
financial and social factors.
The Plymouth Early Intervention and Prevention Strategy is key to the service’s development,
improvement and achievement against targets. This strategy sets out Plymouth’s ambition for
the development of early intervention services, aiming to improve outcomes for vulnerable
children and young people and families and to create savings in high cost specialist services by
intervening earlier when issues arise.
The Strategy seeks to deliver the Plymouth’s commitment to families and young people to make
positive change to their lives together. It will have a significant impact on Child Poverty and
seeks to deliver the actions from the emerging Child Poverty Strategy also ensuring an
enhanced approach for young people who are vulnerable through a caring role.
Plymouth aims to ensure that the needs of children, young people and families are identified
early and are met by agencies working together effectively and in ways that are shaped by the
views and experiences of the children, young people and families themselves.
6. YOT Resources
Generally the funding partners have maintained their contributions at 2011/12 levels with the
exception of the Probation Service where a restructure on a peninsular wide basis has meant a
cut of 6% for Plymouth.
7
The £29,270 sent direct to the Devon & Cornwall Police Authority is being passed directly to
the YOT for 2012/13. The local YOTs have already agreed a reporting basis for the PCCs to
ensure consistency across the peninsular for the future. Plans are in place to bid for the full
grant to be allocated to the YOT for 2013/14.
Following a senior management restructure within the Local Authority the YOT is now better
placed to draw directly on a range of support services for young people and their families
across the Homes & Communities Department, including links with the Local Authority’s Sports Development Unit who are delivering the Positive Futures work on behalf of YOT.
As in previous years the Secondary Inclusion Programme (SIP) is being supported by the YOT
in conjunction with the Excellence Cluster. The YOT is continuing to provide an EIG funded
Victim Liaison Worker who has linked with the Restorative Justice Team resulting in improved
performance in contact with the victims and the delivery of restorative justice interventions.
Funding Comparison
2011/12 2012/13
YJB (£s) (£s)
Effective Practice
ISS
IRS
Drugs & alcohol
KYPE
Prevention
Total 565,689 534,230
Partnership funding
Police- 111,387 111,387
Probation- 81,798 76,873
Health- 63,740 63,740
PCC- CSC 535,293 535,293
PCC- EDUC 69,372 69,325
Total 861,590 856,618
Additional funding
YCAP 0 0
YISP 0 0
Outreach 0 0
EIG 30,000 30,000
Positive Futures 40,000 40,000
Total 70,000 70,000
Overall Totals 1,497,279 1,460,848
8
7. Delivery against Key National Indicators
Rate of proven re-offending by young people who offend (measured offences per
100 offenders)
Rate of Proven re-
offending by young
people who offend
Annual
Target
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
2011/12 37% 43.5% 36.7% 32.6% 31.5%
2010/11 31.8% 31.1 32.3 33.1%
0
10
20
30
40
50
1st Qtr 2nd Qtr 3rd Qtr 4th Qtr
Target
Outcome
Quarterly Target (2012/13)
What we have achieved 2011/2012
Whilst the YOT introduced the new target
system and rolling cohort, the performance
data has been based upon locally held data
rather than the National PNC system where
clear discrepancies have been identified
which cast doubt on their accuracy. This will
mean that comparisons with other areas of
the country within this text should be borne
in mind.
Apart from Q1, which tied in with Q4 of last
year, the YOT has come in within target.
From the latest available data this means
Plymouth YOT has performed better than
its family group on the binary rate with 37%
against 38.6%, but worse than the National
and regional average of 34.1% & 34.2%.
On a frequency rate Plymouth YOT
performance is ahead on all statistical
How we will improve 2012/13
Regular multi-agency DYO meetings are to
continue as they are an important route for
ensuring the most entrenched young people
get a holistic intervention that best meets their
complex needs.
Internally the YOT will continue to develop the
use of Risk Management reviews & PSR panels
to ensure a robust outcome is upheld or recommended that aims to reduce the
likelihood of re-offending.
The use of ISS & IRS will continue to increase
the level of support for individual young people
but at the same time has the potential, in the
short term, to increase the likelihood of young
people being returned to court for non-
compliance.
Further work is underway to increase the level
9
comparisons:
Plymouth- 0.92
Family- 1.15
Region- 0.95
National- 0.96
The data being used to establish the cohorts
for this analysis has started to show the
dramatic reductions in numbers stated
above, As a result it has meant that those
young people within the Criminal Justice
system are more entrenched in their
behaviours without the additional numbers
of young people who turn out to be ‘one
time’ offenders.
of programme delivery through group &
individual case work.
Additional training for staff is being provided on
Assessment & Planning and will of course be
adapted to take on board the changes
proposed within the APIF currently being
developed nationally.
The target has remained the same for 2012/13
in recognition of the reducing numbers &
economic climate.
First time entrants to the youth justice system aged 10-17
Annual
Target
Rate per
100k Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
2011/12 1041 286 523 697 840
2010/11 1340 255 697 1050 1340
Cumulative
Quarterly
Target rate
(2011/2012) 268 536 804 1076
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1st Qtr 2nd Qtr 3rd Qtr 4th Qtr Final
Target
Outcome
What we have achieved 2011/2012
Plymouth YOT has continued with its locally collated data when establishing performance against the FTE
target due to anomalies that exist between PNC &
the YOTs own systems.
The YOT has again seen a substantial reduction in the
How we will improve in
2012/2013
The YOT is continuing to support the
SIP financially and with management
time.
The Parenting Worker is working with
10
numbers of FTEs between 2010/11 and 2011/12 being
300 to 188 respectively. This is a reduction of 37%
which also follows a reduction in the previous year in
excess of 30%.
The YOT has not operated the dedicated Prevention
Service as in previous years with the funding diverted
to the EIG grant. As such this target has been held by
the Local Authority centrally.
The use of the YRD by the police has undoubtedly
impacted heavily on the outcome. Analysis of
available information would lead the YOT to believe
that some 560 YRD’s were issued by the Plymouth
Police. However Plymouth YOT is unable to isolate
‘Plymouth’ young people from this data.
Nevertheless, re-offending from this group amounts
to 10% and questions have been raised regarding
their appropriateness in some cases.
the families of some of the more
entrenched young people and picking
up the issues that could lead to
younger siblings entering the Criminal
Justice system.
The YOT has dedicated resources to
undertake multi-agency work with
other agencies particularly around
those young people receiving the
police YRD or where they have issued
a notification regarding an incident
attended by them. The aim will be to
establish where other agencies are
involved and look at developing a
multi-agency co-ordinated approach or
to make appropriate referrals where
necessary.
Young People receiving a conviction in court who are sentenced to custody.
Quarterly
Target
rate
No. of
Young
People
Annual
Target rate
per 1000 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
Final
Rate
2010/2011 16 1.09% .14% .23% .14% .23% .50%
2009/2010 21 1.09% 3.9% 6.2% 4.6% 1.7% .55%
Quarterly
Target .27% .27% .27% .27% 1.09%
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
1st Qtr 2nd Qtr 3rd Qtr 4th Qtr Final
Target
Outcome
11
What we have achieved
2011/2012
Plymouth YOT has performed well
against its family group with a final year
custodial rate of .5 against the national
average of .8 and family average of 1.2.
There were a total of 13 young people
receiving 16 custodial sentences during
2011/12. Of these 12 classified their
ethnicity as white and 1 as black. The
latter transferred from Tower
Hamlets YOT upon release from
custody. One was a female.
In all cases the custodial sentences
were received for serious offences
(e.g. violence, burglary or robbery
offences) or due to persistent
offending. Failure to comply with
previous orders also featured amongst this group.
How we will improve in 2012/2013
The YOT will continue to fund an ISS as well as IRS
programme. Both have ‘added value’ to the YOT and
undoubtedly contributed to diversion of young
people from custody or deterred them from
committing further offences on release.
The move to a fully trained team of staff to cover the
court has been rolled out and will be embedded
during the coming year. This ensures resilience for
the YOT, development opportunities for the staff and
takes into account the reduced output from court at
the present time.
It is intended to build upon the work of the IRS
programme to strengthen further the transition
arrangements not only for those finishing custodial
orders but also those on community orders. The
YOT will utilise the CAF process to aid this. The
YOTs move to the H&C department should facilitate
closer links with the Youth Service and provide clearer pathways for those young people transferring
from the service.
8. Delivery against Local Targets
Ethnic composition of young people on youth justice system disposals
% of BME young people from year cohort
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final Rate
2011/2012 3.00% 3.14% 1.02% 5.30% 3.60%
2010/2011 5.4% 2.20% 2.10% 5.10% 4.20%
Target 4.5% 4.5% 4.5% 4.5% 4.5%
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
1st Qtr 2nd Qtr 3rd Qtr 4th Qtr Final
Target
Outcome
12
What we have achieved 2011/2012
Ethnic Breakdown of all young people
receiving convictions in 2011/2012 is as
follows; White 345, Asian 5, Black 7,
Chinese or other 1.
With the national comparison data available
our target has been adjusted to 4.5%. On
this basis Plymouth has come within target
although it is still acknowledged that more
up to date data is held locally which
indicates Black Minority Ethnic (BME)
population is higher than the adjusted target
level suggests.
During the last 12 months all staff have
attended a two day course on Equality &
Diversity with particular emphasis being
given on how to challenge discriminatory
behavior.
How we will improve in 2012/2013
YOT research previously found that the three
main areas which contributed to Black Minority
Ethnic (BME) young people’s offending in
Plymouth were issues of identity, the
experience of racism and cultural tension. The
YOT also has qualitative data suggesting that a
significant number of white young people
involved in the Youth Justice System harbour
racist and prejudicial views. The YOT is
therefore including work to challenge these
attitudes and raise cultural awareness with all
young people involved with the service. The
Service Development Team has developed a
group work programme titled Cultural
Diversity and Awareness. It is thought that this
will impact positively on the number of BME
young people in the criminal justice system.
Access by young people who offend in suitable education, training & employment
2011/12
No. of Young People
Annual Target Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final Rate
School Age 71
79.1%
70.8% 77.3% 50.0% 54.5% 66.2%
Over School Age 169 62.8% 65.1% 68.2% 78.9% 66.8%
Total 240 65.7% 68.2% 63.8% 70.0% 66.7%
Target 79.1% 79.1% 79.1% 79.1% 79.1%
What we have achieved 2011/2012
There has been a drop in performance in this
area for Plymouth with the most noticeable
being in the provision for young people of a
school age.
This can be partly attributed to a change in the
How we will improve in 2012/2013
School Age
Education meetings to take place within the
YOT involving Career South West to
support the coordination of RPA provision.
Focus group to look at the school age
13
checking processes undertaken by education
workers in the YOT. Previous checks were
done on those young people whose education
engagement meant that they were not reaching
the target and YOT has moved to a system
where all young people’s engagement was
checked.
The figures are also slightly distorted by the
drop in overall numbers of young people along
with a higher proportion of those being in the
over school age category raising the percentage
levels of those not in 25 hours ETE.
School Age
There was a continued focus on working in
partnership with Plymouth Tuition Services
known as ACE to support and engage some of
our shared young people. Good relationships
were developed between the YOT and the ACE
service. A YOT Service Manager sits on the
ACE Executive Management Committee and chairs the High Profile Vulnerable Users
Subcommittee.
The YOT has now two experienced Education
Welfare Officers who share the education
caseload. One is dedicated to working with
ACE and is the Education Welfare Officer for
the whole of the ACE service.
Raising Participation Age funding was secured
and has been used to employ an education
support worker who provides voluntary support
to all young people who are not engaging in ETE
provision with a particular focus on young
people moving from year 11 into year 12.
Systems have been embedded to support the
use of YRO Education Requirements and all
young people leaving Custody are returned to
appropriate provision and when relevant as a
part of license conditions.
Over School Age
The lack of employment opportunities and the
constriction of preparatory training courses in
target and understand issues impacting on
low performance to include staff from ACE,
YOT and CSW.
Internal review of YOT ETE Policies and
Procedures to raise referral levels and
identification of young people who might
require additional education support.
Continued close links between the YOT
and ACE with weekly meetings to
coordinate support and interventions
around those who are not accessing
education provided. Linking the SIP with
the ACE Services will also support young
people accessing suitable education. YOT
involvement with ACE Management
committee will support this closer working
relationship and better referral and
communication between ACE and YOT. A
new behaviour management system with
rewards and sanctions is being embedded across ACE to encourage attendance and
engagement in school. YOT will support
this alongside the Education Welfare
Service through the use of the full range of
legislative options. The closer working
relationship and referrals from ACE to SIP
will also be a way to improve throughout
2011/12
Over School Age
Close working arrangements have been
enhanced between YOT and Careers South
West (CSW) with named link managers and
a named CSW link for YOT practitioners.
Shared procedures have been developed to
ensure all young people not accessing
suitable ETE are identified and targeted.
CSW have also supported the development
of the DYO Case Planning Forums and are
committed to attending.
Funding from the 14-19 Participation fund
has been secured (as mentioned) to employ
a support worker to focus on those not
accessing ETE or at risk of leaving ETE
14
Plymouth following the loss of European Social
Funding and HM Treasury funding across the
region has had an impact on the opportunities
available for young people. This is particularly
so for young people involved in the YOT who
often have low qualification levels, history of
school exclusions and limited support networks
and they are often competing with young people
with A star grades.
As unemployment rises it is known that the
labour market for young people is impacted on
greatest and with uncertainty from employers
about future options there is a reluctance to
commit to offering young people jobs and
apprenticeships.
It has been found that if young people are to
leave a training programme it is most likely to be
after 3 to 6 months of starting. It is noted that
this often coincides with the end of a young
offenders YOT intervention where the level of supervision drops before ending completely.
Some funding has been secured to address this
issue.
provision approaching the end of their YOT
involvement and a period beyond. The
sustainability of the post will be required to
be mainstreamed locally if successful
through existing commissioning
arrangements.
Consideration on how to give positive
messages to employers and how to support
services could be commissioned would also
benefit YOT clients so that the provision
available fits young people and not vice
versa. This would support the working
towards the meeting of the target which
will remain a challenge.
Access by young people who offend to suitable accommodation
QTR 1 QTR2 QTR3 QTR4
2011/2012 97% 96% 97.5% 96.9%
2010/2011 95.4% 95.7% 96.8% 85.3%
Annual Target 95% 95% 95% 95%
75
80
85
90
95
100
1st Qtr 2nd Qtr 3rd Qtr 4th Qtr Final
Target
Outcome
What we have achieved 2011/2012
Plymouth YOT has ensured that young
people follow a pathway when threatened
or are homeless, that prioritises a return
How we will improve in 2012/2013
The YOT is involved in strategic decision making
and commissioning processes across all areas of
Housing of young people and advocates for
15
to their parent and carers if it is safe to do
so. Much of the work in this area is done
in partnership with colleagues from CSC.
Systems are in place to ensure that all
young people who are presenting risk
factors in ‘living arrangements’ and/or
‘family and personal relationships’ are
referred to either the YOT Parenting
Worker or the Accommodation Officer to
ensure timely homelessness prevention
work.
The YOT also sits on the HUB a decision
making panel to allocate supported
housing.
The majority of cases ‘not in suitable
accommodation’ are in short term Bed and
Breakfast placements while their housing
pathway is being confirmed. Thorough
risk assessments support these placements
by either CSC or Housing. The YOT in partnership with other agencies provides
additional support throughout this period.
services to meet the needs of young offenders.
This includes young person’s early intervention,
homeless floating support and prevention service
and the development of the Integrated Support
Team (IST). There is also involvement in the
creation of a housing pathway to prevent the use
of B&B using local hostels where a placement
from the hostel would lead directly into
supported housing. Joint procedures are being
followed by CSC and YOT for young people
leaving custody who are at risk of homelessness
as well as more preventative measures for those
where accommodation might become an issue
following family breakdown.
The YOT will continue to be represented on all
housing, planning panels that monitor and
provide resources for young people's housing to
keep YOT young people's needs high on the
agenda.
Close working within the H&C will lead to swift
service for young people who are in transition to adult services. Also discussions to take place to
raise priority of young people presented at the
HUB who present a risk of harm to others.
16
Participation by victims in Restorative Justice
2011/2012 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Total
Offences with Victims 43 62 66 32 203
Victims Offered RJ 34 48 62 27 171
% of Victims Offered RJ 79% 77% 94% 84% 84.2%
Direct RJ Delivered 5 22 17 7 51
Indirect RJ Delivered 3 1 8 3 15
% RJ Delivered 19% 37% 38% 31% 32.5%
Quarterly Target 25% 25% 25% 25% 25%
0
10
20
30
40
1st Qtr 2nd Qtr 3rd Qtr 4th Qtr Final
Target
Outcome
What we have achieved 2011/2012
The Victim Liaison Officer has maintained a high
level of contact with victims throughout the year.
The reaction to this has been positive with a number
of them agreeing to at least receive a ‘letter of apology’. This has meant an increase in our
performance delivering RJ to over 30% of eligible
victims.
The YOT has purchased the ‘Writing Wrongs’ RJ
pack and have rolled this out across the Team. The
YOT are undertaking a course of training for all staff
and RO volunteers as Restorative Conferences
Facilitators to broaden out the availability and give
the Case Managers greater confidence in taking into
account victim’s perspective.
Plymouth YOT allotment project took first place at
the Howard League’s Community Awards- Unpaid
work section. The YOT has supervised community
work throughout the city where victims have not
requested direct reparation but have indicated that
the young person should give something back to the
community at large.
How we will improve in 2012/2013
Plymouth YOT aims to build on the
success of the Allotment Project by
building a greater educational element into
the work that young people undertake when attending.
In addition the raising of awareness in RJ
across the Authority has indicated more
locally based one off projects that could
be accessed via the council members and
is very much geared towards smaller areas
rather than city wide.
The aim will be to complete the training of
all Case Managers on facilitating
Restorative Conferences and will then
look to see an increase in the number of
conferences held.
Our continued emphasis is to place the
victim at the core of our work and ensure
appropriate publicity will raise public
awareness and increase confidence.
17
9. Activities that Support Key PIs & National Standards
Development of Volunteers
Plymouth YOT is supported by a dedicated team of volunteers, acting across a range of roles:
Appropriate Adults (AA): supporting young people in Charles Cross police station.
Referral Panel Members: providing restorative justice interventions for young people involved in the youth court system.
Mentors: operating on a one to one basis with young people to engage them in positive
activities
Co-mediator
Prevention Services: particularly SIP
Volunteers perform to a consistently high level and operate flexibly to accommodate the
pressure placed on YOT workers. In relation to ROs, YOT volunteers provide consistent and
reliable support.
The support provided to the SIP has expanded with volunteers taking on a more central role
with support from the program co-ordinator. This includes supporting the development of
lesson plans, attending return to school meetings and acting as mentors through a young
person’s reintroduction to mainstream education. The support of volunteers has given
professionals greater flexibility in developing the service.
Mentors provided significant support for some of the most vulnerable young people, including
those convicted of serious sexual offences. This includes longer pieces of work, extending up to
six months, as well as shorter interventions of around two months.
By expanding the YOT AA Service to cover the evenings the team has been able to support the
work of the Out of Hours Service, enabling them to act more efficiently by covering custody procedures. The AA service is now being piloted with adult mental health service that requires
appropriate adults to support people with learning difficulties or mental health issues who are
arrested and interviewed. The YOT volunteers have also been utilised as a resource within the
Children’s Social Care Department, for example by providing mentors for Looked After
Children.
The YOT has significantly expanded the remit of volunteers, building on the quality of work
which is undertaken. Volunteers within the Plymouth YOT are offered up to date training
packages on Mental Health, Drugs and Alcohol and Safeguarding. The Volunteer Co-ordinator
offers support through informal and formal supervision and some volunteers have gone on to
secure employment. The team is also currently reviewing policies, procedures and the training
of volunteers, as it is recognise that volunteers carry the potential to add significant value to the
work undertaken with young people.
18
Quality Assurance
Plymouth YOT aims to provide the best possible services and opportunities to children and
young people who become involved in the work of the team and have implemented a system of
QA that;
Will seek to ensure processes are completed to a high professional standard and are focused on evidence based practice.
Will test out the impact of interventions on young people’s lives.
QA in this context is about ensuring the team exercises sound judgment, based on good
information and understanding, operating to the highest standards and expectations.
Work has begun with the QA of assessments as stated in Plymouth YOT Improvement Plan
following the HMIP Inspection which took place in 2009. Other QA measures that are being
undertaken are the gatekeeping of all reports for panels & courts and the management
oversight of all ROSH forms, RMP and/or VMPs.
In line with the QA work taking place there has been the development of clear policies and
procedures that cover the full remit of the service. This will ensure that the YOT is fit for
purpose and organisationally defensible. Policies and procedures that are being further
developed and implemented over this year are; Risk, Courts, Custody, RJ and QA.
Service User Participation
A key way to guide the direction of and improve the effectiveness of the team is to gather
feedback from service users and their families as well as victims and partners. This will begin to
improve opportunities for young people to make a positive contribution. By enabling young
people to actively evaluate the service they receive, the team aims to improve the quality of
both the service and outcomes for young people.
The YOT has developed a strategy to begin to enable young people to participate and influence
key decisions that shape their lives (Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the
Child). This will provide opportunities for children and young people; to respond to the
interventions that affect them, to identify and raise issues they think are important, make
changes to service provision based on what they say and ultimately to support the team in
providing better outcomes for all those involved with the service.
Closer working with the Integrated Youth Service will significantly enhance the range and
quality of participation opportunities and approaches available to the team to utilise with the
young people in the youth justice system.
19
Key partnerships & plans: The work of the YOT is well embedded locally in a wide range of
appropriate partnership plans and strategies including those listed below. All of the actions will
be reviewed before March 2013 and updated as appropriate.
Plymouth 2020 Partnership
Plymouth Growth Board
Health and Wellbeing Board
Early Intervention and Prevention Strategy
Child Poverty Strategy
Troubled Families (Families with a Future)
Children and Young People’s Trust – Children and Young People’s Plan
Local Safeguarding Children’s Board
Community Safety Partnership
Housing Plan
10. Chair of Partnership Board and YOT Manager Sign-off
Stuart Palmer
Assistant Director
Plymouth City Council
Homes & Communities
Department
Chair of Plymouth
YOT Partnership
Board
Sign:
Date: 28 January 2013
John Miller
Head of Youth Services
Plymouth City Council
Homes & Communities
Department
Head of Plymouth
YOT
Sign:
Date:
Related Documents
