05/03/2021
Police Oracle
A positive announcement from the Ministry of Justice today: the government is investing £3million in a series of intensive support hubs for young adult offenders.
There has been growing concern about the way the criminal justice system treats young adult offenders (normally defined as 18-25 year olds) over recent years. The House of Commons Justice Committee has held an inquiry and published reports on the subject. The Committee has repeatedly said that a succession of Governments have failed to act on the weight of evidence that dealing effectively with young adults, while the brain is still developing, is crucial to enable them to make a successful transition to a crime-free adulthood. The Committee has expressed a wish to see universal screening for maturity by prisons and probation services, and the adoption of a distinct approach to young adults up to 25 with trained, specialist staff, with an emphasis on developing and testing dedicated approaches. The Magistrates Association in a report earlier this year also called for independent assessments of young adults to ascertain their level of maturity and, therefore, level of responsibility for the offences they have committed.
The Committee summed up the importance of a strategic approach to this age group succinctly:
“Responding to young adults appropriately and effectively is important because, while young adults offend the most, they have the most potential to stop offending and are also resource intensive as they are challenging to manage.”
Now it appears as if the Government has been listening. It has announced a series of hubs to provide specialist support for 18-25 year olds under probation supervision. The first hub, will be based at Newham Probation Office and has been developed by the Ministry of Justice and the Mayor for London’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC).
Young adults have a particularly high risk of reoffending and are more likely to carry out drug, robbery and possession of weapons offences, and be caught up in gang crime.
Mental health and substance misuse experts will work alongside National Probation Service staff, as part of an innovative new approach ensuring vulnerable young adults, many of whom had troubled upbringings and poor education, receive the enhanced support they need to avoid a life of crime.
Offenders released without a home or a job are significantly more likely to reoffend, so accommodation, training and employment services will also operate from the hub to help cut crime.
This support is already available but there are obvious advantages to bringing this range of services under one roof and tackling these complex issues together at an early stage can be much more effective. Many people, especially young adults, with mental health problems instinctively self-medicate with alcohol and/or drugs. Substances often help with managing symptoms in the short-term and by the time it becomes clear that drugs and/or alcohol are exacerbating someone’s mental health difficulties, they may often be dependent. The new hubs should allow young adults with mental health and substance misuse needs to receive a co-ordinated and much more effective approach. There is also the opportunity to address these issues at an early stage when shorter treatment can often be effective.
The pilot will launch in July and run until March 2023 for 18-25 year olds who are assessed as having low levels of maturity and 17 year olds transitioning from the Youth Offending Service to adult probation. It will then be externally evaluated and, if a success at reducing reoffending and improving outcomes for this cohort, rolled out across the country.
Details are limited at this stage but it is clear that all staff will receive specific training in the brain development of young people. Young adults have distinct needs, which are different to both older adults and children and treating them as a specific group will ensure the root causes of their offending are spotted and addressed earlier on in their development.