Young Offender Program “Inadequate”
Young offenders are being put at risk, and almost half of all punishments have no provable benefit for the community, a report into Northern England’s Blackburn with Darwen’s Youth Justice Service said.
The service, run by the council, police and probation, was branded “inadequate” in its community work with children who were deemed likely to offend. Inspectors said children at risk of harming themselves or others were not identified properly, and there were no reviews of those who were spotted. They found cases where mental health and substance misuse referrals had not been made, no action had been taken to get excluded children back to school, and physical health problems were not being addressed.It said that there was no evidence either the child or the public were safer as a result of the team’s work in six out of 10 cases, and that seven out of 12 youngsters had been convicted of further offences after their sentence.