Special Report: Reducing Youth Reoffending

Over the past decade, the number of young people convicted of offences and getting involved in the youth justice system has fallen substantially. This is partly due to changes in how low-level crime is responded to, but also a testament to the increased focus placed on early intervention and prevention by youth justice services.

However, as youth offending has fallen overall, a higher proportion of young people who come into the system are repeat offenders and those with the most entrenched behaviour problems. Statistics shows the proportion of young people who reoffend within 12 months of being convicted of a crime has risen in the past 10 years, with more than two-thirds of those who receive a custodial sentence going on to reoffend.

For this reason, recent government policy has focused on ways to support repeat offenders to change their behaviour, with improving access to education and training seen as a key factor in expanding the range of opportunities open to young people.

While youth justice services have developed a range of innovative approaches to engage repeat offenders, many experts highlight how more needs to be done to improve access to housing and mental health support for those leaving youth custody. In addition, there is growing support for young people to be involved in designing interventions and for youth justice professionals to be trained in evidence-based trauma-informed practice.

CYP Now's special report on reducing youth reoffending summarises four recent studies on working with young offenders, profiles the work of four innovative models of practice aimed at tackling reoffending, and youth justice experts explain key emerging policy trends.

Click the links to read more in this special report:

Policy context

Research evidence

Young people involved in the youth justice system may have suffered high rates of trauma in their lives. Despite this, a risk-based approach is typically used when working with these young people. This month's articles consider alternative approaches to working with young people involved in the youth justice system or placed in a local authority secure unit.

The first paper by Johns et al highlights the importance of establishing and maintaining meaningful relationships when working with young offenders and outlines the social-ecological approach needed to achieve this. These themes are also explored in the second paper by Hampson, which examines how well the strengths-based desistance approach in youth justice has been rolled out in practice across three YOT areas in Wales.

The third paper by Olafson et al investigates the impact of implementing trauma-informed interventions in juvenile justice settings in the USA. It proposes that trauma-informed practice can have a positive impact for young people involved with the youth justice system.

The final study by Ellis explores concepts of vulnerability among girls in a secure unit in England. It argues that open discussions around vulnerability would help the girls realise that, as well as being vulnerable, they are also astute and resilient and that this understanding would help them to reframe their past experiences and plan different pathways for their future.

Practice examples

Supporting siblings of young offenders in Derby

Using Zorb football to engage Doncaster communities

Diverting young people from custody in London

Boosting the work skills of prolific young offenders