Inspection of Youth Offending work in Luton
The latest inspection report of Youth Offending work in England and Wales was published today.
Julie Fox, Assistant Chief Inspector, said:
‘This Core Case Inspection of youth offending work in Luton took place as part of the Inspection of Youth Offending programme. We have examined a representative sample of youth offending cases from the area, and we have judged how often the Public Protection and the Safeguarding aspects of the work were done to a sufficiently high level of quality.
‘We judged that the Safeguarding aspects of the work were done well enough 75% the time. With the Public
Protection aspects, work to keep to a minimum each individual’s Risk of Harm to others was done well enough 73% the time, and the work to make each individual less likely to reoffend was done well enough 78% the time. A more detailed analysis of our findings is provided in the main body of this report, and summarised in a table in Appendix 1. These figures can be viewed in the context of our findings from Wales and the regions of England inspected so far – see the Table below.
‘Luton Youth Offending Service has undergone a major restructure during the period running up to the inspection and it is to their credit that despite significant changes they have maintained a high standard of service delivery with an enthusiastic staff and management team. The quality of interventions delivered by YOS staff and specialist workers is very good; of particular note is the family support work. However, the quality of Risk of Harm and vulnerability assessments and planning requires some improvement alongside the effectiveness of management oversight.
‘Overall, we consider this a creditable set of findings with positive prospects for the future.’
| Scores from Wales and the English regions that have been inspected to date | Scores for Luton | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lowest | Highest | Average | ||
| ‘Safeguarding’ work (action to protect the young person) | 37% | 91% | 67% | 75% |
| ‘Risk of Harm to others’ work (action to protect the public) | 36% | 86% | 62% | 73% |
| ‘Likelihood of Reoffending’ work (individual less likely to reoffend) | 43% | 87% | 70% | 78% |
Download a copy of this press release (PDF, 278 kB) (PDF 0.28mb)
Notes to editors:
- The report is available at www.justice.gov.uk/about/hmi-probation/.
- This Inspection of Youth Offending (IYO) programme started in April 2009. Youth Offending work in all 158 areas of England & Wales will be inspected over the course of a three-year cycle.
- Julie Fox can be contacted on julie.fox@hmiprobation.gsi.gov.uk (E-mail address) and Julie 07973 264412.
