Peer review prompts youth offending team restructure

The local authority’s youth justice plan for 2013/14 reveals that the youth offending team’s work, which has traditionally split into two areas – pre-court and post-court – will be combined into one.

Peer review, which involves trained youth offending team staff assessing other teams, was launched last year as formal youth offending team inspections were scaled back.

A report to Hartlepool Borough Council’s cabinet said the review found that the service has a “strong commitment” to the care and needs of children and young people.

However, weaknesses with the historical organisation of the service into separate pre- and post-court areas of work were identified.

Different staff were involved in each area of provision, but this will be changed so that youth offending team staff carrying out prevention work will also be involved with cases going through the courts.

“Going forward, the service is preparing to introduce the development of ‘through court arrangements’ that will see the majority of resources being placed at the point of prevention and diversion with a view to bringing about further reductions in the numbers of first-time entrants,” the report said.

“It is envisaged that for those young people who go on to offend, the youth offending officer will have established a relationship and rapport with the young person. They will be provided with the capacity to support the young person and their broader family through the court process, support any statutory interventions and then go on to provide aftercare with a view to reducing any further offending behaviour.”

The report also highlighted the fact that the number of offences and first-time offenders had been cut significantly in the last six years.

Proven offences by under-18s dropped from 952 in 2006/07 to 374 in 2011/12, a fall of 44 per cent, while the number of first-time entrants fell 56 per cent from 297 in 2006, to 70 in 2012.