Public participation in crime prevention panels? That's the general idea. The Youth Justice Board and Communities that Care have been looking into the factors that appear to lead to children becoming young offenders.
Now they think they know what to look out for, they want to create panels made up of members of the community and professionals, including youth offending team workers, teachers, health workers and social services, to identify those at risk aged eight to 13.
And what are these factors? The main things to look out for are aggressive behaviour, low achievement since primary school, family history of problem behaviour, lack of social commitment, family conflict, peer involvement in problem behaviour and availability of drugs.
And what happens when they have identified someone? With the permission of the young person and the family, the panel will discuss their case and recommend "a programme of help" to get the family to use mainstream services and get specific help from key workers.
But isn't this just labelling children as criminal types at a very young age? "No we're not," counters Lord Warner of the Youth Justice Board.
"Instead, we are using our knowledge and expertise to make sure they and families get the help they need to lead a crime-free life."
And do we believe him? It may be possible to look at 18-year-old offenders and find all sorts of common factors such as abuse or poverty or whatever. But what we do not really know is the numbers who have experienced these factors but are not offending.
Some people feel this process is widening the net of offenders by fingering them before they have even committed a crime. On the other hand, if we think that we have the means to spot when someone is at risk of going off the rails, it would be remiss of us not to do something.
And will this work? The hope has to be, yes, if the inclusion panels are able to make more personal social development opportunities available for these young people and help them to address their issues in a positive way.
The fear must be that if this intervention ends up being interpreted as enforcement, more as control or punishment rather than opportunity, it could confirm a rebel, and perhaps criminal, identity and further alienate young people from education and the community.
What happens now? There are expected to be 14 pilot youth inclusion and support panels established by April in Barking, Ealing, Greenwich, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Birmingham, Walsall, Liverpool, Knowsley, Nottingham, Lancashire, Salford, Wigan and Sheffield. These panels are being funded through the Youth Justice Board and the Children and Young People's Unit Children's Fund.
FACT BOX
- 14 youth inclusion and support panels will be created by April
- They will involve members of the community in identifying eight to 13-year-olds at risk of getting in trouble, and encouraging families to find support
- The three most common denominators present in young people arrested are low achievement in school, family problem behaviour and peer involvement in problem behaviour.
