Youth justice conference: Confidence in Justice

The Youth Justice Board took the theme “building in confidence” for its annual conference last week. Tom Lloyd finds out how the theme could become a reality. More than 800 youth offending team workers, police officers, magistrates, prison officers and other delegates turned up for the Youth Justice Board's annual convention last week. What united these disparate groups were two common aims: to reduce the number of young people who are sent to prison, and to make sure that those that do have to go to prison are looked after in a safe and positive environment that reduces the chances of them reoffending after they are released. Home Secretary David Blunkett opened proceedings by interviewing a group of young offenders about their views of the criminal justice system (see box). Rod Morgan, chair of the Youth Justice Board, later admitted that he had advised Blunkett against the idea, but delegates felt the politician presented himself well — although he turned down one young man's challenge of a friendly boxing match.
Blunkett's claim that “we are all in this together” went down less well. “You say we are all in this together,” challenged Pauline Batstone, service manager at Bournemouth and Poole Youth Offending Team (YOT) and chair of the Association of YOT Managers. “Well, 'partner', you are causing me a whole host of problems.”

Heavy-handed tactics
Batstone's complaint was that antisocial behaviour legislation is causing more young people to be given antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) for comparatively minor offences, such as graffiti (see box, right). If they break these orders they can end up in court, and be given a custodial sentence — in effect meaning that young people are ending up in custody when their initial offence was fairly minor, which is at odds with the Youth Justice Board's aim of reserving prison for serious offences. Morgan also raised concerns about the number of young people being given custodial sentences for minor offences. He noted that in the early part of this year the number of juveniles in custody had fallen by a tenth, but that this figure shot up again later in the year. “The surge was much greater than we anticipated,” he said. “We continue to be very concerned about the number of young people in custody. “If an ASBO is in some areas a first resort, we need to remind people that it should be a last resort.” Morgan's concerns about sentencing practices were addressed by Lord Woolf, the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales and head of the Sentencing Guidelines Council. “I am here to indicate that the judiciary is concerned about what happens to those that come before it as offenders as a result of the sentences that it gives out,” he said, adding that in many cases judges and magistrates do not receive feedback on the impact of the sentences they use.

Focus on youth
“The sentencing guidelines that have been issued in the past have not focused on youngsters,” he conceded. “This is where the Sentencing Guidelines Council can make a difference. It is our plan next year to look at youth offending and see what we can do to help in that regard. We need to focus on the aim of finding a punishment that will prevent the person offending again.”
As well as trying to ensure that fewer young people end up in custody, the Youth Justice Board also has a responsibility to make sure there is good provision for those in custody. In a later debate Martin Narey, director of the National Offender Management Service at the Home Office, said that although it was crucial to reduce the number of young people in custody, it was also vital to care for those that are in prison or other forms of secure accommodation. He cited drug treatment and health services as two areas for improvement, and said: “Most of all we have to do dramatic things with their education.” Ellie Roy, chief executive of the Youth Justice Board, said progress had been made but added: “It is not enough and we are really only at the start of a very long road.” The board used the convention to launch a consultation on the secure estate, which includes basic principles such as ensuring that all institutions have a “child-centred approach”, and positive encouragement rather than physical interventions. Roy said: “Our draft strategy is very much inspirational in that it is not something that we are going to achieve overnight.” Both Roy and Morgan said that they felt the time had come for the board to move on from its work in setting up the organisation and getting youth offending teams up and running. While there was a feeling that the board was becoming a more stable institution, there were also concerns that the whole framework of children and young people's services is in a state of flux, with children's trusts being rolled out and the green paper on youth currently due before Christmas.

Joined-up thinking
Margaret Hodge, minister for children, young people and families, addressed the convention on its second day to explain more about the role that youth offending teams will play within the new children's trust-led framework.
“Our objectives are very closely intertwined with yours,” she said.
“If we are to succeed in the youth justice field then it is essential that we are all seen as belonging to the same process of change.” She said the children bill will lead to changes, but added: “Youth offending teams will continue to retain their focus on youth justice and they will be inspected separately.” She continued: “Their work should mirror the five outcomes (from the Every Child Matters green paper) in the same way as the other services that we provide for children and young people.” Roy said that the five outcomes are in line with the Youth Justice Board's responsibility to prevent offending, and added: “It is really important to align these two agendas.” Chris Hume, director of practice and performance at the board, said: “I do believe a lot of anxiety and concern has evaporated over the past year. We do need to be alert to potential dangers, but there are far more opportunities that outweigh the dangers.” The theme of the convention was “building in confidence”, reflecting the feeling that the Youth Justice Board is now in a position to grow into a more mature organisation, but the debate on children's trusts showed how easily this early work could be undermined by wider government initiatives. The general mood of the convention was positive and optimistic, but Morgan warned delegates not to be complacent about the year ahead. “Because the first six years have been a period of innovation, it is relatively easy to be optimistic,” he said. “We are entering a period now where things are going to be tougher. We hope for a period of consolidation, but the fact is that we have huge statutory changes going on around us.”

Tackling antisocial behaviour
The antisocial behaviour order (ASBO) is one of the most controversial issues in youth justice, with a wide variation in how it is employed.
Bill Pitt is head of the nuisance strategy group at Manchester City Council, where 650 ASBOs have been handed out so far. “Far from seeing the ASBO as an order of last resort, we have in specific circumstances seen it as an order of first resort,” he says. According to Pitt, the fact that the group has established a reputation for handing out ASBOs means that fewer orders are in fact being imposed. “In two-thirds of cases where our determination to use the order is clear and we conduct a warning interview, the hardness of our reputation is such that the antisocial behaviour stops,” he says. Peter Nicholson, head of service at Newham Youth Offending Team, says that his borough runs a “three strikes and you're out” system. “The first time antisocial behaviour comes to our attention the young person is offered a voluntary programme of involvement,” he explains. “The second time we look to give them an acceptable behaviour contract, the third time we go straight to court and get an ASBO. We do this through the youth inclusion support panel, which now covers eight- to 18-year-olds.”

Young people's voices

There should be a dedicated phone line, so when you get your own place, if you have any problems call this number and the person will speak to you and give you advice and give you more numbers for more help.
Samantha, 18

Why are some police officers still allowed to get away with harassing young people, and treating them like they have done something wrong? You have no right to stop people when they are not doing something wrong.
Dean, 18

If you give young people tags instead of sending them to prison, they don't know what it is like so they don't have nothing to fear. Tags wouldn't have worked for me; I give in to temptation too easily.
Chantelle, 17

Education is important; we all need education if we want to be someone in the future, but the youth don't realise that.
Lee, 18

The young people quoted are all from Haringey and have histories of offending. They were speaking to Home Secretary David Blunkett at the conference. Their names have been changed.