The first
cross-government strategy specifically designed to break the link
between poor health and youth crime was launched today by Care
Services Minister Phil Hope.
Speaking, while visiting staff at Lewisham Police Station, the
Minister outlined how ‘Healthy Children, Safer Communities’, will
build on existing work to prevent young people from getting
involved in crime. The strategy focuses on early intervention to
address health problems to ensure the underlying causes of poor
behaviour are tackled before problems become serious or
entrenched. It will also ensure that young people already in the
system have their health problems dealt with more effectively.
Evidence suggests that health is a key risk factor in youth
crime. Of children and young people in contact with the youth
justice system, evidence shows that half have difficulties with
speech and communication; a third have diagnosed mental health
issues and/or is treated for substance abuse; and a quarter has a
long-term physical complaint and/or learning difficulties.
The strategy will:
· Highlight the importance that everyone who works with children
has access to training to help them spot mental health issues
early.
· Promote specialist interventions such as Youth
Justice Liaison projects to divert more children from the justice
system to appropriate services, and therefore reduce offending and
re-offending.
· Ensure all children receiving a community or
custodial sentence have a healthcare plan, developed alongside
their sentence plan, to address their specific needs.
·
Improve access to health services on resettlement, and ensure
young people register with a GP.
Care services Minister Phil Hope said:
”Young people end up involved with crime for a complex mix of
reasons. This strategy creates better links between health
services and the justice and education systems. It will enable
services to deal with all the problems a vulnerable child faces at
one time reducing the risk that they will turn to crime.
“Government reforms are already cutting youth crime, I’m
confident that through more effective use of health services we
can reduce it further.”
Justice Minister Maria Eagle said:
"A key part of our youth justice strategy seeks to
divert young people from the criminal justice system in the first
place through providing better targeted support including in
health. Young people in the youth justice system are also less
likely to commit further offences if they have access to the
frontline support and services of the community.
"We have seen good progress over the last year with
fewer first time young offenders and decreasing re-offending
rates. Improved healthcare will build on the significant reforms
we have implemented over the past twelve years, but we are
determined to do more."
Policing and Crime minister David Hanson said:
“Intervening early with young people on the fringes of the
criminal justice system is a key element of our strategy to tackle
youth crime. Addressing the health needs of these young people, as
well as those already within the youth justice system, by
improving the way the youth justice system and the health service
interact, is vital in supporting our programme of prevention and intervention.
“Overall, crime has fallen by 36 per cent since 1997 and the
number of young people entering the criminal justice system for
the first time is falling. But we know there is still much work to
be done, and this work represents our continued commitment to
tackle the root causes of youth crime.”
School's Minister Vernon Coaker said:
"We know that youth crime can have a devastating effect
on victims, communities and families, and we must tackle it
head-on. Improving the health and wellbeing of vulnerable young
people can play a significant part in helping to tackle youth
crime and setting young people on the right path.
"Today's strategy is an important step in
ensuring that local services work more closely together to support
the health needs of vulnerable young people within the justice
system. It builds on the work we are already doing to tackle youth
offending through the Youth Crime Action Plan - backed by £100m of
government investment- and the expansion of our successful Family
Intervention Projects (FIPs). FIPs provide targeted, personalised
support for the most challenging families to ensure that young
people with complex health, emotional or other needs receive the
support they need early on."
Superintendent Partnership Lewisham, Lisa Crook said:
“We are all very proud of the successes we have had here at
Lewisham with the Youth Justice initiatives, and pleased we have
been involved from the very early stages. Triage shows that real
impacts can be made in tackling youth crime at its roots without
unnecessarily criminalising young people. By investing in their
overall health and well-being in this way we build confidence in
the criminal justice system as well as setting the foundations for
happy, healthy and fulfilled future generations.”
Lewisham Police Station is pioneering two initiatives to improve
the way children and young people are dealt with. The Youth
Justice Liaison and Diversion scheme aims to ensure that children
and young people with mental health problems, speech and
communication difficulties, learning disabilities and other
problems get the help they need as soon as they enter the youth
justice system.
Additionally, the Triage Scheme brings a Youth Offending Team
worker’sexpertise into police charging centres to ensure that
young people entering custody are rapidly assessed and their needs
identified and responded to.
Notes to Editors
1. Photographs of the Minister’s visit to Lewisham Police Station
are available on request.
2. Health Children, Safer Communities can be downloaded
from the DH website, along with its sister strategy Improving
Health, Supporting Justice, at http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Healthcare/Offenderhealth/index.htm.
3. This strategy builds on Lord Bradley’s review of people with
mental health problems or learning disabilities in the criminal
justice system was published on 30 April. The Government accepted
the direction of travel set out by Lord Bradley, and committed to
developing a national delivery plan incorporating a full response
to the report’s recommendations.
4. The cross-government Healthy Children, Safer Communities
Programme Board is chaired by Richard Bradshaw – Director of
Offender Health, Department of Health.
For further information please contact the Department of Health
press office on: 0207 210 5221
Contacts:
Department of Health
Phone: 020 7210 5221
NDS.DH@coi.gsi.gov.uk