Stiff community and custodial sentences have not reduced youth reoffending, finds National Audit Office
Neil Puffett
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Young offenders are as likely to reoffend today as they were a decade ago, costing society up to 11bn a year, a report by the National Audit Office has found.
However, despite a 25 per cent reduction in the volumes of reoffending, young offenders who receive more serious community sentences or custodial sentences are as likely to offend again as they were when the youth justice system was brought in.
The National Audit Office estimates that in 2009 offending by all young people cost the economy between £8.5bn and £11bn.
The research found that the current number of first-time entrants is the lowest since comparable records began in 2001, while the number of young people held in custody has reduced by 14 per cent over the past five years. In addition, the proportion of all young offenders who reoffend fell from 40 per cent in 2000 to 37 per cent in 2008, with the volume of their reoffending dropping by 25 per cent.
However, the proportion of young offenders receiving more serious community sentences who go on to reoffend has gone up since 2000.
Amyas Morse, head of the National Audit Office, said: "Today’s report recognises that key measures of youth crime, such as the number of young people entering the youth justice system, and the volume of reoffending by young offenders, show real improvement.
"However, young people receiving more serious community sentences and custodial sentences are just as likely to reoffend today as they were in 2000.
"More should be done to find out which interventions are the most effective in dealing with offending behaviour so that, in future, money can be directed at what works."
The report comes just days after the sentencing green paper was published, outlining plans to break the cycle of reoffending.
A further report released this week by the All Party Parliamentary Group for Children (APPGC), clerked by the National Children’s Bureau, highlights the need for wide-ranging reform to the youth justice system.
Children and Young People in the Youth Justice System airs widespread concern about young people’s experiences in the youth justice system, but also provides examples of good practice, particularly from organisations working with young people on resettlement programmes.
The report, based on the six meetings of the APPGC, reveals concerns about the current age of criminal responsibility, and an apparent emphasis on punishment rather than rehabilitation.
