Agenda item

The Strategic Director for Social Care and Education submits a report to provide an update on year one of the five-year Youth Justice Plan 2025-30 highlighting strategic and operational priorities.

The Strategic Director for Social Care and Education submits a report to provide an update on year one of the five-year Youth Justice Plan 2025-30 highlighting strategic and operational priorities.

The Head of Service – Prevention, and the Service Manager for the Children and Young People’s Justice System presented the report.  Key points included:

• The plan was on year one of five.  It was a statutory plan that went to Full Council on a yearly cycle.
• Time had been spent refreshing it, and the partnership board had been met with.
• The latest Children’s Plan, as well as the previous one was in the rpeor.t
• There were five new strategic policies:
• Recognition of national changes – There was a Government White Paper on youth crime.
• Local Government Reorganisation.
• Online Harm – there was an operational group looking at online harm with a violence reduction group.
• Knife crime guidance – It was necessary to cite this in the plan as a strategic priority, it had been discussed as to how to deliver on operational priorities on how to reduce knife crime.
• Connectivity with the youth work agenda.
• In terms of successes, the service had been monitored by the Youth Justice Board on four quadrants, with two being ‘good’ and three being ‘needs improvement’.  The service had been in quadrant two, but due to challenges with Key Performance Indicators (KPI) they were put down to quadrant three.  The service had now moved back up to quadrant two.  This had required significant work and in a recent visit, the interim chair of the Youth Justice Board (YJB) had been pleased.
• The service had a good relationship with partners and the partnership board.
• Challenges included staffing, funding and potential national challenges.
• Further achievements included first-time entrants and the number in custody at the lowest level ever.
• New measures and processes were in place to avoid young people coming back into the youth justice system.
• There were partnerships with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and courts, as well as the Police.  This partnership had ensured that no new entrants had come through the system.
• There were five people on a Youth Justice apprenticeship programme.
• The child-first approach had been invested in.
• Progress had been made, but there was more that needed to be done.

In response to member discussion, the following was noted:

• With regard to knife crime and what counted as a knife, possession of a knife was different to possession of an offensive weapon.  Police had some discretion, for example, a child with mental health issues who had a knife and contacted the police themselves, would be considered differently to one who was carrying a knife with no apparent reason.  Those convicted would get the equivalent of a youth conditional caution as a minimum.
• Nationally, there was a knife crime week, and a month in Leicester.  This was not just about challenging knife-carrying, but also about supporting families, parents and communities, and providing information on what to do if they were concerned.  Additionally, a presentation had been done to Social Care on how to identify the first signs.  Work was done with schools and teachers to encourage them to listen to children.  Work had been done on education prior to new legislation.  Schools and parents could self-refer.  If any contact was made with the police, families were reached out to within 24 hours.
• There was more that could be done, as well as by other services such as the Youth Service.  There was a partnership approach.  Work was carried out in communities, clusters and community centres, and youth workers were working with children in the streets and in schools.
• There was a partnership with the police and the PolEd resource could be accessed by schools.  Other resources included the Livesafe website.
• A conversation had been had with the programme lead in the Violence Reduction Network.  They had community champions in local communities that could support on messaging to children and families.
• The Young People’s Council survey had looked at what young people deemed as necessary on safety. Around 3000 young people completed the survey.  This was still being analysed, but it had been noted that some young people wanted safe spaces and trusted adults.  It was also noted that some young people did not feel safe in their communities and in the city centre, therefore it was necessary to think about what safety meant.
• The Chair congratulated the team and requested that the next report look at Family First, Family Hubs and the voluntary sector.

AGREED:

1)    That the report be noted.

2)    That comments made by members of this commission to be taken into account.

Cllr Waddington left the meeting during the consideration of this item.