The new plans, published yesterday, explore a radically different approach. Transforming Youth Custody: Putting Education at the Heart of Detention aims to deliver value for the taxpayer, reduce reoffending and set young offenders on the path to a better life.
At present, the average cost of a youth custodial place is £100,000 a year - with some as much as £200,000. 73 percent of young offenders who leave custody reoffend within a year.
Welcoming the announcement local Mark said:
‘It is absolutely vital that we tackle re-offending. If we can succeed in turning troubled young people away from a life of crime, and cut reoffending rates, that will mean less crime, fewer victims and safer communities. By putting education at the heart of the approach we can help young offenders to get on in life and make a contribution to society.
Mark continued:
‘I urge local youth charities, education experts and other interested parties in Rugby to read the consultation document make submissions so that the views from our area can form part of the policy making process.’
Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said:
‘We cannot go on just doing more of the same, pouring more money into a system doesn't work in the hope of a different outcome. That doesn’t make any sense to the taxpayer, or to the young people who we should be trying to get back on the straight and narrow.’
The full consultation document can be found here (Ministry of Justice, Transforming Youth Custody: Putting education at the heart of detention, 14 February 2013).
• Consulting the professions. Professionals from the education sector, custodial services and organisations with an interest in young people are among those being consulted on a complete transformation of youth custody.
• Learning the lessons of education reform. The Green Paper looks at the Free Schools programme and Academies programmes – which have secured improvements in education standards well above the national average and turned around some of the worst-performing secondary schools in the country. The paper says that to improve outcomes for young people in custody we need to draw on this experience and bring new expertise and providers into the market.
• Facts about youth custody:
o In the 12 months to June 2012, 3,645 of all young offenders sentenced received a custodial sentence.
o In 2011/12, boys made up 94 per cent of all young people in custody and girls 6 per cent. 17 year old boys accounted for over half (55 per cent).
o The vast majority of 15-17 year olds in Young Offender Institutions have been excluded from school at some point.
o Half of those in this age group are assessed as having the literacy levels to that expected of a 7 -11 year old, learning disabilities are generally more prevalent among young people in custody, and education provision within the youth estate is patchy (Ministry of Justice, Transforming Youth Custody: Putting education at the heart of detention, 14 February 2013, link).
• Need to tackle youth reoffending. According to the latest reoffending statistics for 2011/12, 73 per cent of young offenders reoffended within a year of leaving custody, compared to 47 per cent of adults leaving custody (ibid).