Will the Youth Justice Board hit its targets? Not all of them - but where it will not there is generally a complex picture that must be explained.
You mean it can find excuses?
I mean it's a complex picture. Take for example the target to cut, by March 2008, the number of first-time entrants to the youth justice system by five per cent compared to a March 2005 baseline. When the first three-quarters of 2005-06 are compared to the previous year, there appears to be an eight per cent rise. But youth offending team (YOT) returns included double counting of those who had received reprimands, warnings or court hearings in the same year. A new baseline has been created with more accurate data from April to December 2005. Even so, the target is still "at risk".
And what is it doing about it? The YJB's annual report highlights three new funding streams for prevention work through YOTs, which means opening youth inclusion and support panels, youth inclusion projects and parenting schemes at well above targeted rates. This target could yet come unstuck if police targets to bring offenders to justice continue to encourage court hearings. The YJB wants pre-court measures such as restorative justice programmes to count as "brought to justice".
And what about other targets? The target of a five per cent fall in reoffending between 2000 and 2006 is also at risk: latest figures show a fall of only 1.4 per cent by 2004. The YJB believes that measures to improve performance - reviews, audits, workforce development, ICT improvements and national standards - only started to have an impact after 2004.
And I suppose it's not only the YJB's problem? Exactly. To prevent reoffending, young people need good-quality education, training and opportunities, and stable housing.
What about reducing the use of custody? There's a target to reduce it by 10 per cent by 2008, but in the year to March 2006 it went up four per cent. The YJB accepts that everyone has to work harder to increase awareness of alternatives. The strategy involves planning meetings and reviews for YOTs to ensure they are pushing alternatives, and work with government and magistrates.
What targets are on course? Progress on improving risk-assessment processes for young offenders is good. YOTs are developing and implementing race action plans and using targeted prevention to reduce differences in conviction rates by ethnicity. Secure accommodation for young women, separate from adults, is also on track.
FACT BOX
- In 2005-06 the YJB secured extra resources worth 45m to deliver 92 new or expanded youth inclusion and support panels, 52 youth inclusion programmes and 88 parenting schemes
- Eighty per cent of the youth justice workforce has now gained a Professional Certificate in Effective Practice or equivalent
- Twice as many children and young people are in custody today as a decade ago. Custody accounts for 70 per cent of the YJB's budget
- The YJB's Annual Report and Accounts is available on www.youth-justice-board.gov.uk.
