Agenda item

The Panel received a report and presentation on the County Durham Youth Justice Service presented by Dave Summers, Youth Justice Manager (for copy of report and presentation, see file of minutes).

The Youth Justice Manager outlined that the Youth Justice Service was a statutory multi-agency partnership which formed part of Durham County Council’s Children and Young People’s Service, managed by Durham County Council. The report focused on the young people supervised by County Durham Youth Justice Service who were in our care, first time entrants to the criminal justice system and requests from Durham Constabulary for the transfer of young people who were denied bail, from police custody to Local Authority accommodation. 

The Youth Justice Manager clarified that first time entrants occurred when a young person entered the formal criminal process. Only those for whom there was no acceptable alternative, due to the seriousness of the offence and/or their offending history, were those who were cautioned or prosecuted at court and were not offered a pre-caution disposal (PCD). The Youth Justice Manager highlighted that 3 out 4 young people who were given a PCD did not go on to reoffend.  An increase in the number of first time entrants had been observed within recent years and the increase was being monitored.

The Youth Justice Manager noted that as police prioritised neighbourhood crime, much of which was low level assault, this had a disproportionate impact on young people. In addition there was a greater likelihood of being caught for this type of offence as, in general, witnesses were involved.  An improvement plan had been implemented in respect of reducing the number of first time entrants.

The Panel noted that 15% of the cohort were young people in our care which was significantly higher than the general population, however, the Youth Justice Manager pointed out that all young people remanded to secure accommodation were classed as children in our care and multi-agency plans took account of the impact of a young person’s offending behaviour. In 2024,10 young people were remanded to secure accommodation. Research into the criminalisation of children in care had provided assurance that the work done in County Durham was positive and young people were not unreasonably criminalised. 

With respect to transfers from police custody, those occurred when young people who had been charged by the police were awaiting a court appearance. During 2023-2024,13 of the 17 requests received from the police transferred to Aycliffe Secure Centre. 

The Youth Justice Manager shared a proud moment by commenting on one of the young people within the service who had a history of minor offending. The young person was also a very talented pianist. As part of their reparation they visited adult residential care homes to play for the residents and that had been very well received. The Youth Justice Manager spoke of his experience which had shown him that every young person has unique qualities and the service prided itself on supporting every young person to make a difference to their lives.

Councillor Deinali commented on how encouraged she had been when she visited the Youth Justice Service and witnessed the positive impact the staff had on the young people and she thanked the staff for their commitment to help all young people to make positive life-changes. The Head of Early Help, Inclusion and Vulnerable Children informed the Panel that a visit will be arranged to the Youth Justice Service in the near future, details of which would be circulated in due course.

Councillor Clark referred to the relatively high number of young people who transferred to Aycliffe Secure Centre and she asked why that was the case. The Youth Justice Manager pointed out that the county benefited from the proximity and receptiveness of Aycliffe Secure Centre. He added that Durham had developed a process for transfers which was considered best practice and which had been replicated in other areas of the country.

In response to a question from Councillor Hunt on funding available from the Ministry of Justice for young people remanded to secure accommodation,  the Youth Justice Manager clarified that Ministry of Justice funding applied only to those young people who were remanded to prison service custody.

Resolved:

That the content of the report be noted.