A quarter of the 85 youth offending teams (YOTs) that responded to a survey by the Association of YOT Managers said that every order given to a juvenile in their area was breached. Almost two-thirds of YOTs said that at least half of the orders in their areas were breached. In a quarter of breaches, the young person broke one of the order's requirements, and one in eight breaches led to custody.
Pauline Batstone, chair of the association and YOT manager for Bournemouth and Poole, said closer co-operation was needed between teams, local authorities and the police.
Two out of every three teams that answered the survey said they would like to be more involved when an order is issued. There was also wide variation in the number of teams that made recommendations to the courts when an order was breached. Half said they never submitted reports, but a quarter said they did in every case. Batstone said: "There should be a multi-agency approach to orders."
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