Warwickshire News Mine

The service was inspected in January 2011 and the report from HM Chief Inspector of Probation, which highlights numerous areas of good practice, was published earlier this month.

The inspection of youth offending work involved in depth review of a representative sample of youth offending cases from the area. This involved auditing 61 cases and conducting interviews with case managers.

The service scored well above average against ‘safeguarding young people’, ‘managing risk of harm to others’ and ‘reducing the likelihood of reoffending’ criteria when compared with results of inspections elsewhere in England and Wales.

The service was found to have ‘established effective working relationships with partner agencies to deliver good quality services to children and young people who offend’ and inspectors were ‘impressed by the service’s response to the range of diversity needs with which children and young people presented’.

The report identified that the service could increase management oversight to ‘concentrate more effort to improve the quality of public protection by minimising Risk of Harm to others’, but stated that overall the findings from the inspection were credible and the prospects for the future are promising.

Young people and victims of crime gave positive feedback to the inspectors about their experience of the service. Over 80 per cent of the young people said their lives had improved as a result of the work of WYJS, with almost all stating they were less likely to reoffend. 

Almost two thirds of victims reported satisfaction with the service with many commenting that their needs had been taken into account. One victim said ‘we were contacted immediately and every-one we spoke to couldn’t do enough’. A third of those providing feedback said they had benefited from work carried out by the young person who had committed the offence.

Warwickshire Youth Justice Service Manager Lesley Tregear said: “I am so pleased with this report which reflects the good progress made to tackle youth offending in Warwickshire.

“We will not become complacent however and will strive to improve further and continue to focus on reducing the frequency of offending in the county.”

Warwickshire County Councillor Heather Timms, Portfolio Holder for Children, Young People and Families added: “This is a very positive report which recognises the many strengths of the service and the hard work and dedication of all staff.”

The inspection report is available online at http://www.justice.gov.uk.

Link to WCC