A report will be submitted by the Deputy Director (Children’s Social Care) which summarises the activities undertaken, to date, in the current year to try to ensure that looked after young people are not unnecessarily criminalised whilst living in residential or foster care (Document “B”).

Recommended –

That Document “B” be noted.

(Charlie Jones – 01274 436063)

A report was submitted by the Deputy Director (Children’s Social Care) which summarised the activities undertaken, to date, in the current year to try to ensure that looked after young people were not unnecessarily criminalised whilst living in residential or foster care (Document “B”).

In presenting the report the following points were made:

·         Nationally, young people in care were over represented in the justice system although there had been a steady decline in the numbers entering the system formally over the last six years and also in the numbers in custody.

·         The protocol agreed between the local authority, the Police and the Youth Offending Team (YOT) was currently being reviewed to ensure that the Crown Prosecution Service’s (CPS) 10 point check list was followed. Staff needed to consider whether Police involvement was absolutely necessary; if the Police were called to attend then the inclination tended to be towards taking some action; they had a duty to record any crime

·         The aim was to ensure that young people in care were not being criminalised for something that they would not be in a domestic family setting.

·         Local magistrates were very sensitive to these issues and did provide challenge which had resulted in some cases being withdrawn from court

·         This approach complemented the on-going work in community residential homes; the YOT had adopted the ‘signs of safety’ model.

·         The majority of call-outs to residential children’s homes related to missing children.

·         Work was being undertaken with the homes to deal with more in-house rather than using the criminal justice system perhaps via restorative justice/discussion.  Reporting strategies were also being looked at to ensure that Police were not contacted too quickly.

He answered Member’s questions:

·         It was recognised that in a number of cases the young people were victims and/or survivors of offences themselves and this would have an impact upon their behaviour, the new model of care would look to address this.

·         The role of the Safer Homes Police Officer would be integral to the new approach; building trust and positive relationships with police officers and providing positive role models.

·         The reviewed protocol would need to be re-launched with all residential home staff.

·         It was believed that North Yorkshire’s ‘No Wrong Door’ initiative had halved the numbers of young people reported as missing.

·         The residential homes would be well resourced and would include access to a designated police officer.

·         It was appreciated that residential home staff worked in a high pressure environment and that there was a need for strong team working and robust policies and procedures. Internal sanctions would be available for staff to use within the homes.

·         The re-offending rate was in line with national trends. Once a young person had started exhibiting such behaviour this could be a challenging cycle for staff in the homes to break.  It was hoped that the new model of care would help achieve a reduction in the numbers. It should also be borne in mind that although re-offending figures had increased fewer young people were  being convicted overall.  The case load had reduced but the complexity of the cases had increased.

·         It was unsurprising that there was an over representation of looked after young people in these statistics when their previous life experiences were taken into account. Vulnerable young people were also more likely to be susceptible to being drawn into offending by others. The Safer Homes Police Officer would take a positive role in this regard.

Members’ comments were as follows:

·         The CPS ten point checklist was excellent and took into account the past history of an individual which may help to avoid an overreaction in any particular case. It would facilitate an objective rather than reactive approach to this issue.

·         This informative report was welcomed.

Resolved –

(1)       That Document “B” be noted and welcomed.

(2)       That the Panel expresses its support for the joint Children’s Social Care/West Yorkshire Police/Youth Offending Team protocol and looks forward to seeing an improvement in outcomes arising from its use and the new model of care being implemented within the Authority’s residential homes.

NO ACTION