The Panel received a copy of the Haringey
Youth Justice Strategic Plan 2024-2027. The Panel was asked to note
the plan and the priorities contained within it, and to provide any
comments and observations to the AD: Early Help, Prevention &
SEND. It was noted that the plan had been approved by the Youth
Justice Strategic Partnership Board on the 26th June and
submitted to the Youth Justice Board ahead of the statutory
publication deadline of 30th June. The Youth Justice
Strategic Plan and covering report was introduced by Jackie
Difolco, AD: Early Help, Prevention and SEND as set out in the
agenda pack at pages 9-82. The following arose during the
discussion of this agenda item:
- In response
to a question about the reasons behind why some of these young
people entered the criminal justice system, officers advised that
there were a number of local factors in Haringey linked to
deprivation and the cost of living. A lot of work was done to work
with these children as they came into the system and the Council
was also rolling out a ‘whole family’ approach to work
with the whole family to try and address some of the underlying
causes. Officers highlighted that there hadn’t been a CAMHS
service in Haringey for some time and that the DCS had pushed
partners hard to ensure that services were in place. The Panel was
advised that joint funded speech & language therapy and a
substance misuse service had been secured to ensure that, going
forward, the Council was able to offer targeted
services.
- In response
to a question about disproportionality in the youth justice system,
officers advised that a lot of work was being done to tackle
disproportionality. The YJS received funding from MOPAC through the
disproportionality fund. The service also offered tailor-based
interventions, particularly for young black men. An example was the
Ether programme which focused on raising aspirations. Officers also
set out that they had training across the YJS and wider partners
around disproportionality and inequality. The service also has a
trauma informed approach across the service to ensure that they
fully understood what was happening with the child, so they could
provide an appropriate response.
- In response
to a question about was being done to work with looked after
children to ensure they did not fall into criminality, officers
advised that there had been an improvement from a position where
one third of the youth justice cohort being looked after down to
one quarter. Officers advised that one of the key priorities for
the next 12 months was a dedicated focus on improving experiences
and outcomes for children who were looked after as well as SEND
children. Dedicated resources were in place along with targeted
interventions. Officers were reporting to CPAC on performance
indicators to ensure improvements on education, employment and
training, mental health and wellbeing, and substance
misuse.
- In response
to a question about reoffending rates, officers advised that
Haringey had lower levels of reoffending than most of its
neighbours and that was largely down to the targeted work that had
been done with this cohort and the tailored approach to
interventions. The reasons behind reoffending were similar to those
outlined for offending, namely; cost of living, increased levels of
deprivation, poor parenting, and mental health problems. The
Director added that the context was that we lived in a society
where crime and crime related to drugs was prevalent. Young people
were groomed into crime through the drugs trade.
- The Panel
sought assurances about what other agencies that Council was
working with around young people and drugs. In response, officers
advised that the service worked with a range of partners agencies
and VCS organisations. Officers agreed to share the Youth at Risk
Strategy with Members so that they could get a better understanding
of the partner agencies involved in reducing serious youth violence
in the borough. (Action: Jackie Difolco).
- The Panel
welcomed the process of embedding restorative justice and suggested
that in general they would like to see more of this. Members raised
concerns about seeing young people wearing Hi-Viz clothing in
Highgate with ‘Community Payback’ written on the back.
It was suggested that this terminology seemed to be in
contradiction to the child-led interventions set out in the plan.
In response, officers agreed that using appropriate language was
important. Officers responded that young people didn’t wear
vests when doing reparations in Haringey, it was suggested that
they were likely to be adults. Reparation work for young people in
Haringey was oriented towards volunteering. The Director added that
it would be administered through the courts rather than Haringey.
Officers agreed to check to make sure that under 18’s were
not wearing branded clothing, and that if they were, that clothing
used appropriate language. (Action: Jackie
Difolco).
- The Chair
welcomed the approach taken to adopt a three-year strategy, rather
than a one-year strategy. The Chair commented that she recognised
the hard work involved in producing the Youth Justice Plan and also
recognised the future challenges.
RESOLVED
That Members noted the report and provided comments
on the Youth Justice Plan 2024-2027.