A partnership aimed at diverting young people away from criminality has been launched.
The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, Humberside Police and the Safer Hull Community Safety Partnership are working alongside nation charity Revolving Doors Agency to prevent young adults being pulled into a cycle of crime.
In the last year, Humberside Police dealt with 16,619 non-violent and petty crimes such as theft and minor drug offences. Only five per cent of offenders were given meaningful diversionary or educational activity or an out of court disposal. This highlights a missed opportunity to lift young people out of crisis into a good life.
The preventative measures taken by police and youth offending teams including triaging into support services and restorative approaches, reduced the number of children entering the criminal justice system in the first place. However these approaches tend to cut off sharply at the age of 18, regardless of the individual’s maturity or level of need.
PPC Keith Hunter said: “If we can successfully intervene to prevent young people embarking on what could be a lifetime of creating victims by persistent re-offending we are benefitting everyone. The young person themselves can become a productive member of society and the upset and costs associated with being a victim of even relatively minor crime can be avoided for many people.
“The costs and consequences of mass imprisonment of these persistent offenders can also be avoided allowing prison to be used to punish and rehabilitate more serious offenders more effectively. I’m very happy to support this project and look forward to its conclusions.”
The local partnership will build intelligence about the local needs, foster partnership with local organisations and young people to develop a system wide approach to address trauma, poverty and support the local police and court-led diversion services.
Tracy Harsley, assistant director for children, young people and families at Hull City Council said: “The Safer Hull partnership are looking forward to working with Revolving Doors Agency to understand the underlying needs of young people leaving care and how these needs can leave them vulnerable to repeat contact with the criminal justice system.
“Through partnership, we can collectively develop processes that deliver better outcomes for our vulnerable young adults in the city.”
