MINUTES of the COMBINED YOUTH JUSTICE STANDING CONFERENCE held at The Castle, Winchester on Wednesday, 21 January 2004

PRESENT:

Hampshire County Council

Councillor Mrs. E.M.F. Randall

Councillor Mrs. P. Peskett

Southampton City Council

Councillor R.W. Harris

Youth Court Chairman

E. P. Holmes JP

Mrs R. Behan JP

Hampshire Police Authority

Councillor Mrs. M.D. Snaith

Hampshire Magistrates Committee

Mrs C. Murray

Also in attendance

P.J. Sutton - Head of Youth Offending Services

J.C. Ballard - ISSP Manager, Wessex Youth Offending Team

M. Geaney - Youth Justice Board, London

G. W. Wright - Social Services (Hampshire County Council)

M. Thomas - Social Services, Southampton City Council

Chief Inspector M. Dulson - Hampshire Constabulary

B. Swyer - National Probation Service

Apologies

Councillor C. Lowndes - Portsmouth City Council

Miss H. Humby - Isle of Wight Council

Mrs A. Valentine - Probation Board

D. Boyle - Probation Board

Mrs S. Crocker - Youth Court Chairman

I. Piper - Primary Care Trusts

R. Pearce - National Probation Service

1. APPOINTMENT OF CHAIRMAN

RESOLVED :

That, D Boyle of the Probation Board be appointed Chairman of the Standing Conference for the forthcoming year.

2. APPOINTMENT OF VICE CHAIRMAN

RESOLVED :

That, Councillor Mrs P Peskett of Hampshire County Council be appointed Vice Chairman of the Standing Conference for the forthcoming year.

(In the absence of the newly appointed Chairman, Councillor Mrs P Peskett took the Chair)

3. MINUTES

The Minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday, 24 September 2003 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Vice Chairman.

Matters arising thereon :

Minute No. 1 - Jack Holland, Assistant Chief Officer, National Probation Service -

The Vice Chairman reported that the Thanksgiving Service had been well attended and that many tributes were paid to Jack Holland. The Vice Chairman also took this opportunity to inform the Conference that Dr C Tozer had taken up a new post as Director of Childrens Social Services at Cornwall County Council. In addition, it was reported that J Doyle of Isle of Wight Council (Social Services) would be leaving the Authority to take up a similar post with Wiltshire County Council. It was also reported that Peter Lewis of Southampton City Council (Education Department) had left the Authority to take up the post of the Director of Education Children Services and Leisure with Enfield London Borough Council.

Minute No 3 - Future Role and Responsibilities of the Standing Conference - The Clerk to the Committee reported that appointments to be made by the Association of Hampshire and Isle of Wight Local Authorities (HIOWLA) for two District Council Members were still being sought.

4. YOUTH JUSTICE PLAN 2002 - 2005 (2004/05 UPDATE)

The Standing Conference received a detailed presentation from Phil Sutton, Head of Youth Offending Services summarising the consultation draft of the Youth Justice Plan 2004/05 update.

Members were informed that the full plan was written in a format prescribed by the Youth Justice Board and was in four sections :

· Prevention

· Governance & Resources

· Performance Measures

· Learning and Development.

In relation to the Prevention section, it was noted that there were four strands to the Partnerships Youth Crime Strategy. Each was set out in detail in the Plan. Members were interested to note that there had been a marked decrease in burglary and car crime since 2001 and that for 2004/05 there was a new target in place to ensure that at least 200 at risk children and young people were targeted for support from mainstream services. It was also noted that there had been further development of Acceptable Behaviour Contracts (ABC's) as positive alternatives to Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBO's). During a detailed discussion it was suggested that for a future meeting, a presentation be made regarding mapping of the level of crime per 1,000 children.

In relation to the Governance and Resources section, the Head of Youth Offending Services reported that there would be considerable change in both children's services and criminal justice services following the publication of the green paper "Every Child Matters" and the impending merger of Probation and Prison Services into the National Offender Management Service on a regional basis by 1 June 2004. Youth Offending Teams would continue to act as a bridge between the Criminal Justice System and Children's Services. It was anticipated that new budgetary arrangements for the Wessex YOT would provide much clearer arrangements for funding and transparency. In relation to funding, it was noted that the National Probation Service was seeking for a second successive year to reduce its funding of the YOT.

In relation to the section on Performance Measures, it was noted that the Youth Justice Board had set a number of performance measures for YOT Partnerships for 2004/05. A table was set out in the report detailing performance against these targets and the actions proposed in order to meet them. In considering this section of the report, it was suggested that Defence Solicitors in the Youth Courts should encourage alternatives to Custody either in the form of Bail Support or Remand Fostering. Under this item, it was also noted that Hampton Trust and its staff were now under the control of the Youth Offending Service and that service enhancements were expected in the future. Following a discussion about restorative justice, it was suggested that SOVA, the organisation which provides these services on behalf of the Wessex YOT, invited to attend a future meeting to outline their work.

RESOLVED:

(i) That the presentation be noted.

(ii) That the annual update to the Youth Justice Plan be approved for submission to the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales by 31 March, 2004.

(iii) That arrangements be made for SOVA to attend a future meeting to make a presentation on their work with young offenders and victims of youth crime.

(iv) That arrangements be made for a presentation be made at a future meeting about mapping of the level of crime per 1,000 children.

(v) That Defence Solicitors in the Youth Courts encourage alternatives to Custody either in the form of Bail Support or Remand Fostering.

5. INTENSIVE SUPERVISION AND SURVEILLANCE PROGRAMME (ISSP)

The Conference received a detailed presentation from Jeff Ballard, Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme (ISSP) Manager, concerning the extension of the programme to include all of the Wessex YOT's area.

The Conference were informed that ISSP was part of the governments increasing focus on persistent offenders and was intended to fill a gap in the range of available disposables by offering a credible community base programme for "top end" offenders. It was also anticipated that it would provide an effective alternative to short custodial sentences which would also help manage the custodial population. The presentation also clarified objectives and workings of the programme and identified the eligibility criteria.

The Conference welcomed the detailed presentation and discussions centred on the willingness of schools to take back pupils who had gone through the ISSP programme.

RESOLVED :

That the presentation be noted.

(At this point the meeting became inquorate)

6. TREATMENT OF YOUNG PRISONERS AGED 18-21 YEARS

RESOLVED :

That in view of the low attendance the presentation from Ms B Swyer, Assistant Chief Officer, National Probation Service be deferred to the March meeting of the Conference.

7. NATIONAL REVIEW OF YOUTH JUSTICE BY THE AUDIT COMMISSION AND THE NATIONAL AUDIT OFFICE

The Conference received a detailed presentation from the Head of the Youth Offending Team concerning the two reports published on 21 January 2004. The first report was from the Audit Commission and was entitled "Youth Justice 2004 : A Review of the Reformed Youth Justice System". The second was from the National Audit Office : "Youth Offending :The Delivery of Community and Custodial Sentences".

The Youth Justice 2004 report reviewed the significant progress since the publication of Misspent Youth in 1996 and the National Audit Office report focussed on the arrangements for commissioning custodial accommodation, and the way "high tariff" community sentences were monitored.

RESOLVED :

That the presentation be noted.