HM Inspectorate of Probation has rated Bristol City Council's Youth Offending Team (YOT) as "requires improvement" overall after inspectors raised concerns that risk assessments and planning are rushed and not being completed properly in some cases, inspectors found.
Chief inspector of probation Dame Glenys Stacey said that YOT frontline workers and managers are keen to deliver a good service to young offenders but are being restricted by a lack of staff.
"Staff and managers at Bristol YOT were trying hard to deliver a high-quality service for children and young people who have offended, she said.
"However, their efforts were severely hampered because they did not have enough staff. Heavy workloads put pressure on every aspect of youth offending work.
"In some of the cases we looked at, staff did not address safety and wellbeing concerns, pay enough attention to victims' needs or record vital information.
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