Plans to cut youth reoffending and prevent criminal exploitation approved in Nottinghamshire
Plans have been approved to extend targeted youth work that cuts youth reoffending rates and prevents criminal exploitation of young people.
Nottinghamshire County Council’s Policy Committee will invest a further £300,000 for the successful youth work interventions project to continue until June 2022.
The project involves youth workers working directly with young people known to the youth justice service as well as young people at risk of engaging in harmful behaviours.
The aims are to reduce the risk of young people committing or becoming a victim of violent crime, reduce offending and re-offending, to improve their aspirations and increase engagement in positive activities such as education, training and sports.
Councillor Tracey Taylor, vice-chair of the Children and Young People’s Committee, at the council said: “I am very proud of the successful work of the youth justice service and youth service, which has continued to deliver positive outcomes for Nottinghamshire’s young people amid the challenges of the ongoing pandemic.
“I am delighted that the committee has recommended a continued investment in these proven initiatives.
"This will allow us to continue working with the most vulnerable young people with focused youth work programmes. Youth workers will continue their effective work addressing risk-taking, criminal behaviour, active citizenship and young people finding their role within society.”
The project was first set up in 2019 and focuses on youth justice work using activity-based mentoring and youth service work, providing tailored youth work interventions.
The scheme has seen youth re-offending rates of those in the programme seven times lower than the national average, at just five per cent compared with 37 per cent.
The mentoring scheme has successfully engaged with 67 of 68 young people referred in and they have been supported to gain qualifications, to access training, return to education or to get work experience. Youngsters have also been offered the opportunity to get involved in sports, music producing, bike repair and maintenance, and outdoor pursuits.
The other strand of the project has provided youth work interventions for 240 young people.
The council’s youth work also focuses on tackling criminal exploitation of young people through partnership work with the Multi-Agency Serious Youth Violence and Criminal Exploitation Panel.