Praise for council’s ‘diverse’ youth justice workforce
Fiona Simpson
Monday, October 23, 2023
Inspectors have praised a London local authority’s youth justice service (YJS) over its diverse workforce and initiatives to prevent reoffending.
Southwark Council’s YJS has been rated as “good” by HM Inspectorate of Probation, with inspectors praising its “impressive staffing arrangement”.
They highlighted the positive impact of the “recruitment of volunteers and those with lived experience of criminal justice” on young people.
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Inspections clinic: Youth justice services
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Children's Workforce Guide to Qualifications and Training 2023/24
Southwark was also praised for the diversity of its workforce “which is supporting children through their supervision and helping them to achieve their goals, such as accessing education, training, and employment programmes – a key element in deterring children away from offending”.
The report notes that Southwark is one of London’s most diverse boroughs with more than 120 languages spoken.
Interim chief inspector of probation Sue McAllister said: “There’s a genuine community spirit about Southwark YJS.
“From the staff to local volunteers to the children themselves, there is support for the service’s work and an ambition to succeed. Each child has access to programmes to help them develop and deter them from offending, and there is comprehensive support for them, their families, and victims of crime.”
Councillor Jasmine Ali, deputy leader and cabinet member for children, education and refugees at Southwark Council, said: “I am immensely proud of the youth justice team and all their excellent work.
“This glowing report spells it out – because of this service, children’s lives have changed for the better.”
Inspectors, however, found that work around children subject to cautions or similar in Southwark requires improvement.
“We found several cases where the level of risk of harm a child may pose was not justified,” the report states, recommending that the service assesses each child’s risk fully, rather than a single behaviour.
Other recommendations include increased analysis and understanding regarding children receiving police community resolutions and a review of powers around deferred prosecution cases.
