The Howard League for Penal Reform published a report developed by young people in the criminal justice system which reveals how punitive responses to youth crime are failing, as evidenced by the highest reoffending rates of any age group, with almost three quarters of under 18s going on to reoffend after leaving prison.
It's not really surprising that so many disenfranchised young people got involved in the rioting - there's a great lack of personal identity and a feeling of not belonging to society - being sidelined. The cost of keeping young people in remand or in prison is huge, far less than the costs of positive intervention in the school and post-school years. All the cuts we see in support services will only add fuel to the fire. The backlash of mental health issues and feeling of social division are growing alarmingly and is being felt in schools at the moment. Some 66,000 young people already choose not to attend school on a daily basis, many of them because they lack the capacity, resilience, flexibility, adaptability and resourcefulness to manage the sometimes very demanding and often compliance/punitive environments they are expected to cope with.
I'm really surprised that the numbers are this small - perhaps someone is massaging the figures down.
It is easier to build a child than to repair an adult
So why is it that we still think we can use the sticking plaster approach - ie wait for the damage, then try to fix it, blame society, parents and anyone else in the firing line? Why is it so difficult to see that a proactive, intevention approach is far better than the reactive on we are currently seeing?
I wish I knew the answer to these questions, perhaps then, I would understand the working of Mr Gove and others' minds in Whitehall and beyond.
Some of their recommendations are:
via@pivotalpaul on Twitter
First published 14 Sept 2011
It's not really surprising that so many disenfranchised young people got involved in the rioting - there's a great lack of personal identity and a feeling of not belonging to society - being sidelined. The cost of keeping young people in remand or in prison is huge, far less than the costs of positive intervention in the school and post-school years. All the cuts we see in support services will only add fuel to the fire. The backlash of mental health issues and feeling of social division are growing alarmingly and is being felt in schools at the moment. Some 66,000 young people already choose not to attend school on a daily basis, many of them because they lack the capacity, resilience, flexibility, adaptability and resourcefulness to manage the sometimes very demanding and often compliance/punitive environments they are expected to cope with.
I'm really surprised that the numbers are this small - perhaps someone is massaging the figures down.
It is easier to build a child than to repair an adult
So why is it that we still think we can use the sticking plaster approach - ie wait for the damage, then try to fix it, blame society, parents and anyone else in the firing line? Why is it so difficult to see that a proactive, intevention approach is far better than the reactive on we are currently seeing?
I wish I knew the answer to these questions, perhaps then, I would understand the working of Mr Gove and others' minds in Whitehall and beyond.
Some of their recommendations are:
- The youth justice system is not the appropriate response to the majority of children and young people and does little other than reinforce negative identities and behaviour
- Prevention and early intervention should be a priority: cuts to children’s and young people’s services should be reversed and future budgets ring-fenced
- Strategies to support children’s relationships with their families should be further developed
- Children and young people should be supported by positive role models
via@pivotalpaul on Twitter
First published 14 Sept 2011