So, what should be done? The good news is there were plenty of positive ideas on the table, and there was already a lot of good practice around, which could be used more widely. The Government should not develop any sort of action plan on youth crime, and instead, must sit back and create the space for local solutions. However, it was expected to provide the funding for solutions.
The debate also decided the Government should avoid ‘hyping' youth crime. Another suggestion was that the Government be brave about targeting resources, rather than spreading cash to thinly.
So, for example, money should be spent on cutting youth crime in key areas in parts of Manchester, Liverpool and London, where youth crime was more of a problem. The final ‘ask' of the government, was that it should sort out anomalies in its policies.
For example, police are encouraged to formalise their encounters with young people as part of their targets. On the other hand, young people who are in the system, tend to go on to commit more crimes.
The youth justice system itself came under attack for being ‘part of the problem'.
New offenders, it was decided, should be dealt with in a different way from prolific offenders. Locally, it is the police rather than local authorities who are more likely to help young people at risk of falling into crime. A study by the University of Edinburgh shows that 76% of violent young offenders aged 17 are not known to social care or youth justice agencies, but are almost all known to the police by the time they are aged 15. Evidently, the police are key.
However, there is also a software system available to councils to identify those at risk, and this was considered to be a useful tool for wider use.
As part of the prevention of youth crime, the debate considered help for parents to develop their parenting skills, as well as parent-to-parent learning, and the possibility of putting parenting skills on to the curriculum in schools. There was the suggestion of an inter-generational initiative – bridging the divide between young and older people to help tackle the fear of crime.
Young people should also be allowed to come up with some of their own solutions and be helped to make decisions for themselves. There should be safe places for them to use and activities for them to do.
Changes to the 14-19 education system, which will give a range of options for practical and academic learning, including training and employment, will also help address the issue of youth crime. Young people who are no longer interested in school will be allowed to work in their early teens, with the opportunity to go back to the education system later on in life should they wish to. However, one of the major recommendations of the debate, was to tackle problems with alcohol.
A number of suggestions were given to reduce the prevalence of cheap alcohol, including:
The Government should:
