43 3 Youth Offending Teams and MAPPA: past problems, current challenges and future prospects Alex Sutherland1 ‘I’ve never seen a young person’s case be brought before a MAPPA meeting, despite having attended a gazillion of them. And that worries me as a practitioner who obviously would be seeing these young people … or potentially would be seeing these young people in … a year or two’s time.’ (Probation officer, symposium participant) Introduction This chapter focuses on why there may be practical difficulties for Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) and those
271 17 The decline of youth offending teams: towards a progressive and positive youth justice Nicholas Pamment Aims of the chapter • To introduce multi-agency youth offending teams and consider their impact. • To explore the major barriers to effective multi-agency working. • To outline alternative and progressive approaches to address youth crime. Multi-agency working within youth justice In 1996 an Audit Commission (1996) report argued that an immense amount of money had been invested into the youth justice system (YJS) but the interventions remained
. Other significant reforms introduced by the Act were the introduction of the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales (YJB) as a non-departmental public body with responsibility for monitoring the operation of the youth justice system, advising ministers, the dissemination of research and (from 2000) the commissioning of places from the secure estate for young people receiving custodial sentences. The Act also introduced new multi-agency Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) which bring together professionals from a range of disciplines.1 Statutory involvement is
259 FIFTEEN The prevention of youth crime: a risky business? David Porteous Introduction With New Labour’s ascent to power in 1997 came a ‘new youth justice’ (Goldson, 2000). In this reformed system, the assessment and management of risk has been given a pivotal role. All young people referred to Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) in England and Wales are now assessed using a common, structured risk assessment profile known as Asset. This is intended to guide practitioners’ judgements as to the ‘riskiness’ of a young person and to enable them to identify the precise
Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) are now one of the central features of government policy in the UK for managing the risk presented by violent and sexual offenders. Although there has been research and debate concerning the use of MAPPA with adult offenders, their application to young people has received relatively little attention until now.
Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements & Youth Justice extends the existing literature on public protection. It provides a detailed exploration of MAPPA policy and practice in order to prompt further debate about the implications of the risk paradigm for young people and youth justice practitioners.
In the book, key academics, practitioners and policy makers consider a range of theoretical and practical issues raised by the introduction of MAPPA including risk and children’s rights, the use of professional discretion by practitioners, alternative approaches to risk management and suggestions for future policy development. It will be of interest to both professionals and academics working with young offenders and in youth justice.
Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) have become the main sanction for dealing with anti-social behaviour in the UK. This book provides one of the first assessments of this sanction, which has become widely used but remains extremely controversial.
The report is based on detailed interviews with ASBO recipients, practitioners and community representatives in areas affected by anti-social behaviour. Examining its use and impact from these various perspectives, the book assesses the effects of ASBOs on the behaviour and attitudes of recipients as well as examining the various issues which arise in relation to their implementation.
The report should be read by academics and students who want to make sense of ASBOs, practitioners who are involved in implementing them as well as policy makers who are responsible for designing this sanction. It will also be of interest to all those who have an interest in addressing the issue of anti-social behaviour.
This topical, accessibly written book moves beyond established critiques to outline a model of positive youth justice: Children First, Offenders Second. Already in use in Wales, the proposed model promotes child-friendly, diversionary, inclusive, engaging, promotional practice and legitimate partnership between children and adults which can serve as a blueprint for other local authorities and countries. Setting out a progressive, positive and principled model of youth justice, the book will appeal to academics, students, practitioners and policy makers seeking to improve working practices and outcomes and will make an important contribution to the debate on youth justice policy.
Over the last decade, the reformed youth justice system has seen increases in the numbers of children and young people in custody, a sharp rise in indeterminate sentences and the continuing deaths of young prisoners. The largest proportion of funding in youth justice at national level is spent on providing places for children and young people remanded and sentenced to custody.
The publication of the Youth Crime Action Plan during 2008 and the increasing emphasis on early intervention provides a framework to consider again the interface between local services and secure residential placements.
This report brings together contributions from leading experts on young people and criminal justice to critically examine current policy and practice. There are vital questions for both policy and practice on whether the use of custody reduces re-offending or whether other forms of residential placements are more effective long-term. The report looks at current approaches to the sentencing and custody of children and young people, prevention of re-offending and a range of alternative regimes.
It is a key aim of current youth justice policy to introduce principles of restorative justice and involve victims in responses to crime. This is most evident in the referral order and youth offender panels established by the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999. However, the challenges involved in delivering a form of restorative youth justice that is sensitive to the needs of victims are considerable.
This report provides an illuminating evaluation of the manner in which one Youth Offending Service sought to integrate victims into the referral order process. The study affords in-depth insights into the experiences and views of victims and young people who attended youth offender panel meetings. It places these in the context of recent policy debates and principles of restorative justice.
The report tracks a 6 month cohort of cases in 2004; provides an analysis of in-depth interviews with victims, young offenders and their parents; highlights the challenges associated with integrating victims into restorative youth justice; offers recommendations with regard to the involvement of victims in referral orders.
This timely report will be of great value to youth justice policy-makers and practitioners, researchers and students of criminology and criminal justice, as well as all those interested in restorative interventions and the role of victims in the justice process.
Alongside the current media public preoccupation with high-risk offenders, there has been a shift towards a greater focus on risk and public protection in UK criminal justice policy. Much of the academic debate has centered on the impact of the risk paradigm on adult offender management services; less attention has been given to the arena of youth justice and young adults. Yet, there are critical questions for both theory - are the principles of risk management the same when working with young people? - and practice - how can practitioners respond to those young people who cause serious harm to others? - that need to be considered.
The distinguished contributors to “Young people and ‘risk’" consider risk not only in terms of public protection but also in terms of young people’s own vulnerability to being harmed (either by others or through self-inflicted behaviour). One of the report’s key objectives is to explore the links between these two distinct, but related, aspects of risk.
