Agenda item

Purpose of the report:  Policy Development and Review

The Committee is asked to review the refreshed Youth Justice Strategic Plan, which sets out how youth justice is delivered in Surrey. It is produced by Surrey Youth Support Service (YSS) on behalf of the Youth Justice Partnership Board (YJPB), which is comprised of Surrey County Council (covering Education and Social Care), Borough Council representation, the Probation Service, the National Health Service, the Magistracy and the Police Service.

Witnesses:

Nick Wilson, Strategic Director for Children, Schools and Families

Garath Symonds, Assistant Director for Young People

Ben Byrne, Head of Youth Support Services

Meg Webb, Magistrate, South-West Surrey Bench

Gavin Stephens, Assistant Chief Constable, Surrey Police

Key points raised during this discussion:

1.    Officers informed the Committee that the Youth Justice Strategic Plan (YJSP) would cover a 5 year period from 2015 – 2020, instead of the usual annual plan, so to help develop a long term approach to tackling youth offending. Officers explained that Surrey’s youth justice system had undergone significant developments and had taken a new focus on early intervention.

2.    The Committee questioned officers over the level of input from mental health workers in tackling youth offending. The Committee commented that there was a need for greater representation for young carers, and Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). Officers informed the Committee that the Youth Support Service works closely with CAMHS and were working together on re-commissioning services for young people. Officers highlighted the need to further improve joint work with mental health services and young carers.

3.    There was a discussion concerning Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE), the Committee queried how continuity of support for young people and their carers was ensured in such cases. Officers informed the Committee that 20 social workers were employed by Youth Support Services, but highlighted staff retention was an issue. Officers added that continuity of support around CSE had been a core theme within the Surrey Youth Justice redesign, and stated that the re-commissioning of services for young people had had a positive impact in this area.  

4.    The Committee raised the issue of cyber crime and asked officers what was being done in connection to prevention of cyber crime in schools. Officers responded by stating that cyber crime represents a great challenge and recent research had shown that children feel most unsafe online. The Committee was informed that Surrey has a Youth Intervention Officer whose role has a strong focus on tackling cyber crime in a restorative way. It was added that good links and communication between parents, schools and the community were paramount in tackling this, and that there was a need for further analysis on the role of social media in cyber crime.

5.    The Committee asked about the resourcing of the strategy in the future, and were informed that there were multiple sources of funding available that had not yet been secured. This made forward planning for resourcing challenging. However, it was highlighted that the analysis contained within the report would support future negotiations for funding, and that a Service Budget would be included in the final report including more detail on future resource requirements.

6.    The Committee discussed the provision of joined-up care for young offenders in custody and social services. Members questioned officers on the issue of communication between police and schools when young people have committed offences. Officers informed the Committee that only 5 young people from Surrey were at that time in custody. It was added that the Surrey Youth Support Service worked closely with adult services and that schools receive notification when an offence has been committed.

7.    Officers were questioned over the link between anti-social behaviour and crime. The Assistant Chief Constable of Surrey Police informed the Committee that there was a strong link between anti-social behaviour and crime. He stated that the approach had been focused around problem solving and community engagement, for example through borough and district community action groups.

8.    The Cabinet Member for Schools and Learning informed the Committee that Surrey County Council was supporting a conference themed on modern threats to young people, such as cyber crime. She added that two new posts have been created for safeguarding officers.   

Recommendations:

A.    The Committee endorses the Youth Justice Plan, and commends the Youth Support Service and the Youth Justice Board for their success to date. It recommends:

B.    That the Youth Justice Board undertake evaluations with the probation services to understand what impact early youth justice interventions have on reducing long-term adult offending, and share these findings with the Committee at a later stage.

C.   That officers provide a report on the Reducing Re-offending Plan 2014-17 with details of how Youth Support Service and partners are working to address homelessness, NEET status and mental and emotional health issues as known factors in relation to re-offending. The Committee requests that this report, along with the progress of the 1 year action plan and relevant performance data is provided 12 months time.