Hull partnership aiming to divert young people away from criminality

From today, a strong partnership of the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, Humberside Police and the Safer Hull Community Safety Partnership (CSP) will be working alongside national charity Revolving Doors Agency to prevent young adults being pulled into the cycle of crime and crisis.

In the last year, Humberside Police dealt with 16,619 non-violent and petty crimes such as theft and minor drug offences. Only 5 per cent of offenders were given a meaningful diversionary or educational activity or an out of court disposal^[i]. This highlights a huge missed opportunity to lift young people out of crisis and into a good life.

The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, Humberside Police and Safer Hull CSP are ambitious to address these issues and improve the life chances for young people in the area.

There is a smarter way of dealing with repeat non-violent crime

The preventative measures taken by police and Youth Offending Teams, such as triaging into support services and restorative approaches, reduced the number of children entering the criminal justice system in the first place.  However, these approaches tend to cut off sharply at the age of 18, regardless of the individual’s maturity or level of need.

There is also growing concern that those already in the criminal justice system are not being effectively dealt with. Trends are telling: the proportion of adults with a history of repeat offending is now at the highest ever level, accounting for nearly two fifths of the offending population[ii].

Poverty and trauma

Evidence[iii] shows that these offences are driven by persistent poverty and profound trauma. The review published by Revolving Doors Agency today demonstrates that most local areas do not prioritise these needs in tackling repeat offending.

Today, Revolving Doors Agency announces a partnership in Hull with the Humberside Police and Crime Commissioner, Humberside Police and the Safer Hull CSP under their New Generation Policing programme.

The local partnership will build intelligence about the local needs, foster partnership with local organisations and young people to develop a system wide approach to address trauma and poverty and support the local police and court-led diversion services.

Nathan Dick, Head of Policy at Revolving Doors Agency said: “We are delighted to spearhead a strong partnership in Hull that will create a once in a generation opportunity to prevent the cycle of crisis and crime. We know repeat low-level offending is driven by poverty, trauma and discrimination. These are crimes of despair.  If we address the causes of crime, we will make communities safer and free up our police to deal with more serious, organised and violent crime.”

PCC Keith Hunter said: “If we can successfully intervene to prevent young people embarking on what could be a lifetime of creating victims by persistent re-offending we are benefitting everyone. The young person themselves can become a productive member of society and the upset and costs associated with being a victim of even relatively minor crime can be avoided for many people. The costs and consequences of the mass imprisonment of these persistent offenders can also be avoided allowing prison to be used to punish and rehabilitate more serious offenders more effectively. I’m very happy to support this project and look forward to its conclusions.”

Humberside Police Assistant Chief Constable Paul Anderson said: “We are very pleased to be part of the partnership aiming to prevent crime amongst young adults. We welcome any initiative that looks to support the young people of Hull who find themselves in a pattern of reoffending and hope that this helps to lead them in a more positive direction. Our commitment to reducing crime and making our communities safer remains our priority and this partnership definitely aligns with our goals.”

Tracy Harsley, Assistant Director for Children, Young People and Families at Hull City Council said: “The Safer Hull Partnership are looking forward to working with Revolving Doors Agency to understand the underlying needs of young people leaving care and how these needs can leave them vulnerable to repeat contact with the criminal justice system. Through this partnership we can collectively develop processes that deliver better outcomes for our vulnerable young adults in the city.”

Notes

[i] Home Office. 2020. “Outcomes Open Data Year Ending March 2020” Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-recorded-crime-open-data-tables

[ii] . Ministry of Justice. 2019. ‘Offenders convicted for indictable offences by previous criminal history, year ending March 2009 to 2019’. Table Q6.1. London. Ministry of Justice.

[iii] Revolving Doors Agency. 2018. 1.800.000 Opportunities. http://www.revolving-doors.org.uk/file/2317/download?token=cS_ocem7

About Revolving Doors Agency

• Revolving Doors Agency is a national charity that aims to change systems and improve services for people ‘in the revolving door’ – i.e. people who come into repeat contact with the criminal justice system due to multiple unmet needs such as mental ill-health, poverty and traumatic life events.
• We work to create a smarter criminal justice system that makes the revolving door avoidable and escapable. We do this by working alongside national and local decision-makers. We combine lived experience insight, robust research and system knowledge to create policy and practice solutions that work.

 About New Generation Policing

• New Generation Policing is delivered by Revolving Doors Agency and supported by three independent funders, the Barrow Cadbury Trust, the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, and the Lloyds Bank Foundation. It is a three-year programme supporting Police and Crime Commissioners and police services to develop and implement new interventions to stop young adults from being caught in the cycle of crime and crisis.