Educate to Rehabilitate

Charlie Taylor, a former headteacher and child behavioural expert has set out plans to transform youth custody; his interim report suggests that the youth justice system would be more effective and better able to rehabilitate young people if it were focussed around education. Local, secure and smaller schools would draw on educational and behavioural expertise to rehabilitate children and give them the skills they need to thrive on release. 

Amongst its findings, the report states that around 40% of young people in under-18 Young Offender Institutions (YOIs) have not been to school since they were aged 14; they are also only receiving 17 hours of education every week against an expectation of 30 hours.

Young Offenders

There has been much discussion in the news recently about cared for young offenders. Government figures show that the  majority  of young people are in care because they have suffered abuse or neglect - just 2% of them are taken into care primarily because of their own socially unacceptable behaviour. However, a disproportionate number of them are more likely to end up in the criminal justice system than other children. The issues behind this will now be examined in an independent review, to be chaired by Lord Laming.

The latest 'Proven Re-offending' statistics bulletin from the Ministry of Justice is now available, giving figures for adult and youth re-offenders; it also looks at some of the underlying reasons for young people re-offending. NACRO are a crime reduction charity, aiming to reduce crime and re-offending in communities across England and Wales, by offering programmes that help people back into work. 

Amongst their publications is one that offers advice on employing ex-offenders.