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Custody panels: Impact of a pilot scheme on juvenile sentencing rates
Summary
In September 2007, a custody panel was formed to look at the cases of all children under 18 sentenced to custody in North Hampshire. Formed with representatives of the Youth Offending Team, Children’s Services and the voluntary sector, the panel reviewed each case to see if action might have been taken to avoid custody and to give feedback to those working on the case. In addition, the panel sought to inform and improve practice among all agencies and aggregate data relating to the use of youth custody.
This pilot initiative in Wessex, part of the joint Local Government Association/Howard League for Penal Reform project Children in Trouble, has seen a striking drop in the annual figures for children being sentenced to custody in North Hampshire, due to improvements in the co-ordination of service provision for individual children.
Annual custody figures demonstrate a 42% drop in the numbers of children being sentenced to prison since a custody panel was introduced. With the success in reducing the numbers of children sentenced to custody in mind, the panel is now expanding its focus to include those children remanded into custody as well. The panel is part of a larger initiative in the North Hampshire area, which seeks to extend the use of intensive fostering for children at risk of custody.
This report gives on overview of the work of the panel, including custody data and discusses outstanding difficulties and issues.
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