Inspectors found a mixed performance picture in Hampshire Youth Offending Service (YOS), with some outstanding organisational strengths alongside areas that required improvement. Overall, Hampshire was assessed as ‘Good’.

Hampshire YOS was well led by its management board. Inspectors found particularly strong multi-agency partnership working and an excellent range of interventions to reduce the likelihood of reoffending by young people aged from 10 to 18.

The inspection of Hampshire in June 2018 examined three broad areas of work: the organisation’s leadership and delivery of its services; work with those dealt with by the courts; and with children and young people dealt with out of court.

Dame Glenys Stacey, HM Chief Inspector of Probation, said staff in Hampshire were “skilled, motivated and worked creatively to engage young people.” They were particularly adept at delivering interventions to support “desistance” – young people stopping offending or antisocial behaviour – and “showed tenacity in advocating for young people.” The YOS was committed to maintaining stable professional relationships between staff and those under supervision.

A further strength was that staff had a good awareness of ‘county lines’ issues – gangs and organised crime networks forcing children and young people into selling and transporting drugs across counties.

However, alongside these strengths of organisational delivery, inspectors had concerns about court and out-of-court disposals.

Dame Glenys added: “We found Hampshire YOS could do more to strengthen the delivery and review of court and out-of-court disposals. They need to manage the safety and well-being of children and young people, and the potential risk to others.”

A key finding in relation to out-of-court disposals was that “there was insufficient focus on the needs of potential future victims.” Inspectors examining Hampshire’s assessment of young offenders dealt with in court noted one case in which information about a young person who was known to carry a knife was not included in the risk assessment.

Hampshire YOS was also urged to improve work to encourage young people to make meaningful reparations, in ways they understood, in cases where their offending affected the community, rather than an identifiable victim. A further area for improvement was tackling “disguised compliance” – where the young person gives the appearance of cooperating with agencies to avoid raising suspicions.

Overall, Dame Glenys said:

“We have given Hampshire Youth Offending Service (YOS) an overall rating of ‘Good’. Our inspection found a mixed picture, with outstanding areas of practice alongside aspects that require improvement… Our recommendations have been designed to assist Hampshire YOS to build on its strengths and focus on areas for improvement.”

– ENDS –

 

Notes to editors:

 

1. The report is available at justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation at 00.01 on Thursday 06 September 2018.
2. Youth Offending Teams (YOTs), which deliver youth offending services, supervise 10-18-year olds who have been sentenced by a court, or who have come to the attention of the police because of their offending behaviour but have not been charged and instead are dealt with out of court.
3. This inspection is part of HMI Probation’s new programme of YOT inspections. Hampshire was inspected and rated across three broad areas: organisational delivery, court disposals work, and out of court disposals work.
4. We inspected against new standards and all services are given one of four ratings: outstanding, good, requires improvement and inadequate.
5. Fieldwork for the Hampshire inspection took place in June 2018.
6. For further information please contact John Steele, HMI Probation Chief Communications Officer, on 020 3334 0357 or 07880 78745, or at john.steele@justice.gov.uk