To review the performance of the youth justice service, focusing specifically on drugs, grooming of young people, and county lines.

Mr James Thomas, Corporate Director for Children and Culture introduced the presentation stating that Children who become involved in anti-social behaviour and criminal activities are one of the Council’s most significant statutory responsibilities. He said the arrangement for the Youth Justice Service were set down in strict legislation and statutory guidance, with a multi-disciplinary service, involving the police and other stakeholders, contributing to its effectiveness.

Mr Thomas then handed over to Ms Susannah Beasley-Murray, Director of Supporting Families, who provided an overview of the Youth Justice Service. Ms Beasley-Murray was supported by Ms Kelly Duggan, Head of Youth Justice Service and Mr Luke Norbury, Deputy Head of Youth Justice Service.

The presentation provided a detailed analysis of the work of the Youth Justice Service, outlining the key performance indicators that the service is measured against as well as data on performance and impacts of interventions.  Ms Duggan stated they were part of the pilot project where youngsters in youth custody would be referred to residential units rather than prison. She said the accommodation was in Newham and Tower Hamlets was one of six borough’s working together on the accommodation project. She said they were working with 81 children as at September 2022 and the main types of offences related to violence against the person at 50%, with burglary and Fraud & forgery at 11%. Ms Duggan said drug related offences were statistically low at 6%, but the borough did have a problem with drug dealing and grooming of children. She said this was more within the borough and across London rather than cross county lines.

Ms Duggan said 277 children were at risk of harm, with 47 being identified as being at high risk and harm. Ms Duggan outlined what the Service was doing to tackle exploitation and how they work with other agencies, via multi-disciplinary teams to develop intelligence and provide intensive support to children on a one-to-one basis. Mr Norbury added they had used feedback from Youth Justice Children to understand what intervention worked best and were working in partnership to offer a holistic and targeted service to young people to prevent offending and at-risk behaviour.

In response to comments and questions from members the following was noted:

• The resettlement unit based in Newham was a six-bed facility with funding for three years. The Youth Justice Board were the main funders although each borough is also expected to make a small contribution towards it. Beds as part of the pilot cost approximately £140 per night compared with £350 per night for a bed at a custody facility.
• Safeguarding children from county lines was a vital part of the work the Youth Justice Service undertakes. Education is key for this. The child exploitation team works with those who are at low to high risk on a one-to-one basis. The data and intelligence collated via the multi-agency approach ensures that the team is aware of the emerging themes and is constantly questioning how it can disrupt the flow of drugs and limit the exposure of children who are victims of grooming, rather than criminals.
• In respect to partnership working, Ms Beasley-Murray stated that they were working with the Courts, health partners and the voluntary sector in ‘breaking the cycle’ to reduce harm and risk to children. Ms Duggan added they use the ‘Trusted Adult Model’ so the young person can have dialogue with the adult that they most trust, rather than being passed from professional to professional.
• Ms Beasley-Murray confirmed resources were pooled together to ensure the best use of resources and information. She said the exploitation team was co-located with the police and worked in unison with the community safety teams. She said MACE was co-chaired with the police, where data was scrutinised as well as individual cases discussed.
• Ms Beasley-Marray said family involvement was key in helping young people not to become involved in crime and/or re-offend. She said the pressures were external from outside the home, but extended families, community and places of worship played an important role to steering youngster away from crime. She said the Council’s Youth Service and Early Help teams worked with families to identify at risk children and provide intensive interventions.
• In regard to if the service had adequate staffing, Ms Beasley-Murray said whilst there were 81 children at risk as at September, the work undertaken by practitioners was very intensive, with some children requiring contact 7 days a week and others perhaps 3 days a week. She said the service was busy as a result.
• Ms Duggan added that the work of practitioners in the Youth Justice Service was slightly different to the work undertaken by Youth workers. She said caseworkers were passionate about their work and provided tailored support from ensuring the young person was up and ready for the day to supporting and building on their strengths.
• Mr James Thomas said that whilst the borough had a high rate of child poverty this did not automatically translate into higher crime rates. He said they were very committed to ensuring the Children and Families partnership continued to support families through the cost-of-living crisis and those entitled to free school meals were claiming this.

• ACTION: Ms Beasley-Murray to provide a written response to Councillor Kabir’s question relating to new responsibilities around keeping children in education, training and employment. 

The Chair thanked Mr James Thomas and the Youth Justice Service for their presentation.