Good Idea: Triage scheme to divert young offenders from custody

Name Triage for young offenders
Provider Child Action Northwest

Cutting reoffending rates is challenging. Statistics published in January showed that 36 per cent of all young offenders in England and Wales reoffended within a year, rising to 73 per cent among those released from custody. But a project that intervenes early is yielding impressive results.

Child Action Northwest’s triage project for young offenders is funded by Lancashire County Council, Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool Councils. It is offered to young people who have committed low-level offences, such as theft or criminal damage, as an alternative to entering the criminal justice system. As of February 2013, just 26 of the 375 young people who went through the project in 2012 had reoffended, representing seven per cent.

Offenders are offered support to help them avoid committing crime in the future, including writing a letter of apology to victims or attending training about the consequences of crime. The young person may also be ordered to carry out community service, which can be combined with studying for an award or Asdan-accredited qualification.

Faith Marriott, youth justice manager at Child Action Northwest, says the system works because the activities help young people to understand the implications of their actions. “Reparation used to be about litter-picking and never considered what a young person would get out of it,” she says. “We’ve moved a long way. They know why they’re doing things and they’re skilling up as well.” Marriott adds that the schemes have been so popular that young people have carried on volunteering at their placements beyond their prescribed hours.