AT A MEETING of the COMBINED YOUTH JUSTICE COMMITTEE held at Portsmouth Civic Offices on Wednesday 25 September, 2002.

PRESENT:

Hampshire County Council

Councillor Mrs. P.G. Peskett

Southampton City Council

Councillor R.W. Harris (Chairman).

Portsmouth City Council

Councillor Tom Blair

Probation Board

Dermot Boyle.

Hampshire Police Authority

Councillor Mrs. M.D. Snaith

Youth Court Chairman

Mrs. E. McDonald JP - North Hampshire

Mrs. D.M. Evans JP - Southampton and New Forest

Leo Ward JP - (Substitute for Mrs. M. Bowden JP) South and South East

Also in attendance:

P.J. Sutton - Head of Youth Offending Services

Chief Inspector M. Dulson - Hampshire Constabulary

Mrs. P. Robinson - Social Services, Portsmouth City Council

Mrs. C. Tozer - Social Services, Southampton City Council

G.W. Wright - Social Services, Hampshire County Council

R. Faulkner - Education Department, Isle of Wight Council

Mrs. P. Charlwood - Chief Executive of South Central Connections Partnership

Apologies received:

Mrs. A.F. Valentine (Vice-Chairman) - Probation Board

Councillor Mrs. Nicke Bentley - Portsmouth City Council

Mrs. H. Humby - Isle of Wight Council

Mrs. V. Moore - Southampton City Council

Mrs. M. Bowden JP - Youth Court Chairman (South and South East)

Mrs. R. Behan JP - Youth Court Chairman (South and South East)

Mr. J. Black - Hampshire Magistrates Committee

J.A. Doyle - Social Services, Isle of Wight Council

Mrs. L. Woollam - Hants and Isle of Wight Health Authority

P. Bingham - Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and South East Hants Health Authority

Councillor Mrs. E.M.F. Randall - Hampshire County Council

23 WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS

The Chairman welcomed Councillor T. Blair of Portsmouth to his first meeting of the Committee and also welcomed Leo Ward who was substituting for Mrs. Bowden JP, Youth Court Chairman (South and South East).

24 MINUTES

The Minutes of the meeting held on 19 June, 2002 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Matters arising thereon:

Minute No. 19 - Wessex Youth Offending Team - Operational and Value for Money Review

The Head of Youth Offending Services reported that following the detailed progress report at the last meeting a summary review of the findings had been published and copies were made available at the meeting. It was noted that a further report would be submitted to the Committee in January, 2003 detailing the action plan and implications for the Wessex Youth Offending Team.

Minute No. 18 (Minute No. 14) - The Use of Custodial Sentences and the Secure Estate for Young Offenders

It was noted that a report detailing the variation in sentencing patterns between the four youth court areas and in particular as they affected young offenders from different ethnic minority backgrounds would be submitted to the Committee in March, 2003. The Head of the Youth Offending Services also advised that he had invited Mr. Martin Stephenson of the Youth Justice Board to make a presentation to the Committee about the education of children in the secure estate.

Minute No. 22 - the Children's Fund

The Head of Youth Offending Services reported that the Government had now placed greater emphasis on youth crime prevention indicating that 25% of the budget must have a direct preventative focus. It was noted that there were ongoing discussions with various bodies on how to spend the money in an appropriate manner.

25 JUSTICE FOR ALL : THE IMPLICATIONS FOR THE YOUTH JUSTICE SYSTEM OF THE GOVERNMENT'S WHITE PAPER

The Committee considered a report of the Head of Youth Offending Services (Item 2 in the Minute Book) setting out the Government's proposed response to two major reports :

· Auld report : Review of the Criminal Courts of England and Wales


· Halliday Report - making punishments work : review of the sentencing framework for England and Wales.


It was reported that the central theme of the planned reforms was to rebalance the Criminal Justice System in favour of the victim and the community so as to reduce crime and bring more offenders to justice. The report detailed the main indication of the reforms for the Youth Justice System. It was noted that responses to the White Paper needed to be submitted by 9^th October, 2002.

The Head of the Youth Offending Services reported that the White Paper made a number of specific proposals for change. The paragraphs relevant to the Youth Justice System were quoted in the report and a short commentary which would form the substance of a response to the Government was also set out in the report.

The Committee made various observations about the White Paper and in particular commented on the remand fostering scheme. The Head of Youth Offending Services pointed out that he would be willing for the Wessex Youth Offending Team to be a pilot scheme and would prefer any pilot to include young offenders of the age of 11 years. It was, however, pointed out that any pilot scheme would need to be supported by sufficient government funding. The Committee also discussed in detail the Action Plan Orders and it was suggested that rather than being available for upto twelve months a degree of flexibility should be built in around six months.

RESOLVED:


(i) That the report be noted.


(ii) That the Head of the Youth Offending Services respond to the White Paper as outlined in the report and also incorporate the details as set out above.

26 THE CONNEXIONS BUSINESS PLAN

The Committee considered a report of the Head of Youth Offending Services (Item 3 in the Minute Book) setting out the initial arrangements for the establishment of a Connexions Partnership in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

The Committee also received a detailed presentation from Pamela Charlwood, Chief Executive of South Central Connexions on the connections business plan. The presentation explained about Connexions, what was happening locally and the link between Connexions and Youth Justice. In particular the presentation focused on the targets of Connexions and the services provided including personal advisors, One Stop shops and information access points. It was noted that the service went live on 1 September, 2002 and that a £12m budget had been allocated for the first year with a comprehensive recruitment campaign ongoing to deliver services.


RESOLVED:

That the report be noted and Mrs. Pam Charlwood be thanked for both an informative and interesting presentation.

27 YOUTH CRIME PREVENTION

The Committee considered a report of the Head of Youth Offending Services (Item 4 in the Minute Book) concerning youth crime prevention and the youth inclusion programme.

In relation to the youth inclusion programmes it was noted that the Youth Justice Boards evaluation had identified early success in reducing levels of youth crime in the targeted areas. In relation to the youth inclusion programmes it was noted that this formed part of a broader strategy of preventing youth crime. In particular the development of a local strategy needed to be linked to the emerging national strategy. The Committee were asked to note the emerging national strategy and encourage the statutory agencies to contribute to the development of a comprehensive local youth crime prevention strategy.

RESOLVED:

(i) That the report be noted.


(ii) That partner agencies be encouraged to contribute to the development of comprehensive local strategies across the four local authority areas.


(iii) That further reports be submitted to the Committee, as the strategy develops.

28 EARLY INTERVENTION AND THE OPERATION OF THE FINAL WARNING SCHEME

The Committee considered a report of the Head of Youth Offending Services about early intervention and the operation of the final warning scheme.

The Committee were informed that the Crime and Disorder Act introduced new procedures for dealing with young offenders outside the formal court processes. The report highlighted the changes introduced through the final warning system. Members of the Committee were asked to explore ways in their own organisations of communicating the changes in the early intervention procedures, with a view to enhancing public awareness and confidence in the Youth Justice System.

The Committee also received a detailed presentation from Sgt. Dave Tongs from the Portsmouth office explaining how the early intervention schemes worked on the ground. In particular it was noted that levels of reconviction following a final warning showed that 67% of young people were not reconvicted in the following 12 months. It was noted that the Youth Offending Team would like to concentrate its efforts on the most at risk young people. It was noted that approximately 15% of young people did not co-operate with the Youth Offending Team and it was probably amongst this group that the most at risk young people would be found.

The Committee asked that written information be made available in a format suitable for members of the public.

RESOLVED:

(i) That the report be noted.


(ii) That Members of the Committee promote awareness of the final warning scheme within their own organisations.

29 THE OPERATION OF THE REFERRAL ORDER

The Committee considered a report of the Head of Youth Offending Services (Item 6 in the Minute Book) regarding the operation of the referral order. It was noted that a referral order required attendance by the young offender and his/her carer at a series of meetings with members of youth offender panels. Panels consist of specially trained volunteers and members of the Youth Offending Team. The participation of victims at panel meetings was actively encouraged. The report, supported by information from Carol Baynham, Probation Officer/Referral Order Co-coordinator, detailed some of the early experiences of implementing the new order.

In particular the Committee heard about the experiences of one panel member. The Committee were informed that the response from members of the public to train as panel members was very positive and that to date 100 panel members had been recruited and trained. The mix and spread of age, gender and ethnic background was generally acceptable across Wessex as a whole, although some local areas had identified specific targets for future recruitment.

RESOLVED:

(i) That the report be noted.


(ii) That referral order co-ordinators be commended for their contribution to the implementation.


(iii) That panel members be thanked for their commitment to the scheme.

30 DATES OF MEETINGS IN 2003

The Committee noted the dates for meetings in 2003:

· Wednesday 22 January, 2003


· Wednesday 26 March, 2003


· Wednesday 18 June, 2003


· Wednesday 24 September, 2003


All meetings will start at 2.15 p.m. in Winchester with the exception of the March meeting to be held in Southampton.

31 EXCLUSION OF THE PRESS AND PUBLIC

RESOLVED:

That, by virtue of Paragraph 8 of Part I of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following item.

32 CONTRACTS FOR THE PROVISION OF YOUTH JUSTICE SERVICES (CONFIDENTIAL)

The Committee considered a confidential report of the Head of Youth Offending Services (Item 9 in the Minute Book) relating to Youth Justice Contracts. As the meeting was inquorate the Committee Members in attendance noted the confidential report and the action to be undertaken under delegated authority by the Head of Youth Offending Services.

RESOLVED:

That the action to be undertaken under delegated authority by the Head of Youth Offending Services be noted.

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