“With sustainable, long-term funding as part of the Spending Review, councils can also invest in the early intervention and prevention services which provide vital support to young people.”
Responding to the latest statistics by the Office of National Statistics on youth justice, Cllr Judith Blake, Chair of the Local Government Association’s Children and Young People Board, said:
“Today’s statistics highlight the excellent ongoing work of council youth offending teams, the police and other partners in working with young people to avoid them coming into the youth justice system.
“We know that those young people who are in the youth justice system have incredibly complex needs, and require the most support from youth offending teams to step away from crime and move towards more positive choices.
“We urge the Government to at least retain the youth justice grant at its current levels to help youth offending teams give young people the help they need.
“With sustainable, long-term funding as part of the Spending Review, councils can also invest in the early intervention and prevention services which provide vital support to young people.”
Notes
New figures published today show:
- 85 per cent drop in the number of first-time entrants to the youth justice system over the last decade (18 per cent drop in last year)
- 83 per cent decrease in number of children receiving cautions or sentences over last decade (19 per cent drop in last year)