Revised youth justice guidelines 'risk poorer outcomes'

The current framework, published in 2013, features 10 standards in a 50-page document, but under proposals put out to consultation by the Youth Justice Board, these will be condensed into four standards, plus an additional new one, in a document currently 25 pages long.

John Drew, who is also senior associate at the Prison Reform Trust, said the decision to simplify and broaden the framework risked losing lessons learned, and decisions becoming more subjective.

The draft document sets out national standards for youth justice services to be used by youth offending teams and other professionals working with children in the justice system.

These standards cover broad areas: "out of court", "at court", "in the community", "in secure settings" and "on transition" - a new standard reflecting the transitions children and young people can experience in the community and the secure estate.

This is in comparison with standards in the current document with more detailed titles, such as "preventing offending", "bail and remand management" and "planning and delivering interventions in the community".

Drew described the draft standards as a "radical departure" with potential risks.

"I don't think these are national standards," he said.

"They are something much looser than that. I fear they are too loose and they haven't got as strong a basis as they could have, while still being much looser, in important lessons that have been learned over the years.

"There are bound to be some things in the previous national standards that are really, really important," he continued.

"When you no longer specify them, but you have a much more broader and permissive framework, which is what they [the YJB] are trying to do, then you're relying on people interpreting much looser phrases in the way that you wish."