Inspectorates to assess alcohol role in girl offending

The thematic review by HM Inspectorate of Probation, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary, Ofsted, the Chief Inspector of Prisons, and Welsh inspectorates for education and social services, will assess the impact agencies have on offending and reoffending by girls and young women aged 10- to 17-years-old.

The review will particularly focus on the influence that underage drinking has on vulnerable girls’ offending behaviour and the risk they pose to themselves and others while drunk.

Services in six areas - Lambeth, Brighton, Leeds, Sunderland, Swansea and Blackburn with Darwen – are taking part in the review, which is due to begin next month and will publish its findings in mid-2014.

The investigation follows on the back of a recent study by the Centre for Mental Health on girls’ offending behaviour and their involvement in street gangs.

It found that a quarter of girls involved with gangs have a suspected mental health problem and 30 per cent had either self-harmed or were judged as being at risk of suicide. Nearly 40 per cent of girls in gangs had behavioural problems before the age of 12, and were three times more likely to have a history of running away and exclusion from school.