Youth offending team managers asked to give their views on the future of youth justice
Neil Puffett
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Youth offending team managers are being encouraged to respond to a consultation on the justice green paper so they can have their say on the future of youth justice in the wake of last week's announcement that the Youth Justice Board (YJB) will be abolished.
He added that it is important that youth justice practitioners help shape future youth justice policy.
"The justice green paper, to be published in the next couple of months, will give us even more clarity on the government’s plans for youth justice," he said. "Your responses to this consultation will be important to the youth justice system going forward."
He also moved to reassure YOTs that the YJB will continue to exercise its current responsibilities. "We will continue to oversee YOTs, disseminate best practice, commission a distinct secure estate and place young people in custody," he said.
"In particular, we will continue to monitor the operation of the youth justice system and, therefore, will continue to collect data in the usual way."
He added that legislation to allow the YJB to be absorbed into the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) could be completed in the autumn of 2011 or the spring of 2012.
Meanwhile, statistics released by the MoJ show that numbers of young people aged 10 to 17 receiving their first reprimand, warning or conviction has fallen significantly.
For 2009/10, the figure stands at 57,291, a decrease of 23 per cent from 74,588 young people in 2008/09.
