Transforming Rehabilitation: Preventing Youth Crime

The Centre for Justice Innovation has published a toolkit that’s useful for anyone working with young people getting into trouble with the police. There’s plenty of evidence to show that, after young people get arrested for first-time and low-level offences, the very worst way of dealing with them is to throw the book at them. If we want to prevent young lives spiralling into ever-worse criminal behaviour, then treating young offenders by youth diversion programmes is the way to go. It makes all-round sense, whether it’s financial, social, or the care for the individuals concerned in the crime. Our prison system is over-crowded – we need innovative thinking to prevent crime: by tackling the problem with young offenders before they become older offenders makes eminent sense. The Centre for Justice Innovation quotes an Audit Commission report from 2009 which estimates the estimated taxpayer savings to be £113 million if one in 10 young offenders where diverted towards effective support. Check out the toolkit.