The Council’s Youth Justice Service has set out its plans to help the city’s young people in the coming years and build on its ‘outstanding’ work.
The service has to submit proposals for its aims and how it will achieve them.
The two-year plan details how it will continue the work which was recently judged as ‘outstanding’ after an inspection by HMI Probation.
The YJS aims to prevent offending and reduce the number of children entering the justice system, working with families, victims and partner organisations to keep children and young people away from crime and create safer communities.
Over the past year the service has helped to reduce the number of children with formal criminal records, and reduce the number re-offending. It has also helped to reduce the use of custodial sentences for children.
However, the last year has seen an increase in violent offences and weapon possession for children. The plan outlines how the partnership will work to help those most at risk of offending, including children who have been excluded from school, or who have had a disrupted education; and those who have been victims of exploitation.
Cllr Patricia Seaman, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People at Coventry City Council, said: “We are very proud of our outstanding Youth Justice Service, but we need to keep building on the work we have done and bringing in more improvements.
“We have to ensure that children, young people and victims are at the heart of all we do. To do that, we have to work with partners and residents across the city to tackle issues like exploitation and serious youth violence. We have to listen to children and young people to find out what they need, and this plan will help us to do that.
“The work outlined in the plan will not only help children in danger of taking the wrong path, it will help the whole city and support our work to create a child-friendly Coventry that is a safe, happy and healthy place for all children to grow up in, and one that gives them the best possible start in life.”
The service’s work to involve children and parents and give them a voice was one area praised in the recent inspection. It also praised the way children’s diversity needs are met through access to partnership support and matching of mentors to the children by shared, lived experience or through heritage.
More information on the Youth Justice Service and its work can be found on the Council website.