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Date: November 25, 2024 Mon
Time: 9:13 pm
Time: 9:13 pm
Results for juvenile justice (northern ireland)
2 results foundAuthor: Nortern Ireland. Criminal Justice Inspection Title: An announced inspection of Woodlands Juvenile Justice Centre Summary: The last Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland (CJI) report on Woodlands Juvenile Justice Centre (the JJC) was published in May 2008. It made 38 recommendations of which the Youth Justice Agency (YJA) fully accepted 33, partially accepted five, and published an action plan to implement accordingly. The JJC had only recently opened when CJI last inspected and in the intervening period it has consolidated its practice. This inspection found that the JJC has continued to provide high levels of care and control to children sent into its custody. It was delivering a good service in close consultation with children and their adult carers. Appropriate governance arrangements had been maintained and management practices were strengthened. There had been no escapes since the last inspection and considerable effort was being invested in addressing children’s offending behaviour. There had been some positive developments in the child custody system since 2008 and Inspectors found: the JJC had become the default location for all girls aged under 18-years-old; the age profile of its population had changed. Some 25% of the children admitted were 17-years-old at the time of our inspection; and collaboration with Social Services had also improved and this appears to have reduced inappropriate admissions. However, a better response is required from some Social Services Trusts to support the work of the JJC. There were several examples of progress within internal JJC management and practice. These included: a significant reduction in the use of force; continued investment in staff training and development, and high numbers of staff had qualified in relevant disciplines; the appointment of a Deputy Director of SocialWork and part-time Forensic Psychiatrist; improved performance management - overtime and sick leave were reduced and there was closer managerial control over annual leave and night staff deployment; better management information systems; new JJC rules had been published and were more fit-for-purpose; children’s file recording had improved; and monthly monitoring visits by the Office of Social Services and bi-annual unannounced CJI inspections had been initiated. Standards of healthcare and education were high though Inspectors were concerned about professional isolation of healthcare and education personnel. Feedback from partner agencies and community providers about the JJC was positive and it was recognised as a model of good practice. Senior personnel were invited to advise on the design of new Secure Children’s Homes (SCH) in England and the Republic of Ireland, and were also represented on the England and Wales Restraint Management Board. The JJC buildings were well-maintained and security had been enhanced by the extension of closed-circuit television (CCTV) to all communal areas. Inspectors were therefore satisfied the JJC was fulfilling its legislative remit to ‘Protect the public by accommodating children ordered to be detained therein in a safe, secure and caring environment; and work to reintegrate children into the community ….’ Despite this the inspection also raises major issues. These are outwith the JJC and the YJA, and are not to do with its operational management or care and control of children held there. Rather they are systemic matters around the high numbers of children being sent to the JJC for very short periods on foot of Police and Criminal Evidence (PACE) proceedings, the impact of delay and the location of 17-year-old boys who require custody. These issues are not new. They are already being addressed to varying degrees, but there is scope for further progress and we make recommendations only accordingly. Things are better in some respects than the child custody arrangements in England and Wales, but it should be possible to further improve the position in the small Northern Ireland jurisdiction. The JJC service comes at a very high financial cost, but it is impossible to accurately relate costs to re-offending levels since there have been so few sentenced children and re-offending data is limited. For the majority of children who are sent there yet never receive a sentence, we can only conclude that the JJC represents a very expensive way to detain them, usually for short periods from which they are unlikely to gain much benefit. It is also anomalous that while there is surplus bed space in the JJC, many 17-year-old boys are held in HydebankWood Young Offenders Centre (the YOC) which is ill-equipped to deal with them. This situation begs early implementation of the obvious remedy-transfer of 17-year-old boys from the YOC to the JJC - on grounds of both good practice and value for money. There will be challenges in the future including budget pressures and changes in the population profile. Measurement of outcomes for children, including their reconviction rates needs to be improved. However, the main challenge is for the wider criminal justice and child care systems to build on the positive collaboration that has begun and ensure the JJC is only used for children who really need to be held in custody. Details: Belfast: Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland, 2011. 60p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 19, 2012 at http://www.cjini.org/CJNI/files/c1/c1f1690b-190f-4788-90b8-5d1b48578f57.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Europe URL: http://www.cjini.org/CJNI/files/c1/c1f1690b-190f-4788-90b8-5d1b48578f57.pdf Shelf Number: 124199 Keywords: Costs of Criminal JusticeJuvenile DetentionJuvenile Justice (Northern Ireland)Re-Offending |
Author: Northern Ireland Criminal Justice Inspection Title: An announced inspection of Woodlands Juvenile Justice Centre Summary: Woodlands Juvenile Justice Centre has been praised by Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland (CJI) for its role in improving the child custody system in Northern Ireland. "Woodlands Juvenile Justice Centre (the JJC) accommodates some of the most difficult and disturbed children in our society, and in doing so, prevents them from causing mayhem in their communities and in the residential care system," said Brendan McGuigan, Chief Inspector of Criminal Justice in Northern Ireland. "Since autumn 2012 all children under 18 who are sent to custody are held at the JJC. This means that no child is held in adult custody in this jurisdiction. "This is a significant achievement but the impact of older children being held within the JJC is testing the resilience of staff. It is also inappropriately used as a short term care facility for children who breach children's home rules, when parents/guardians refuse to accept them back home or on foot of Police and Criminal Evidence (PACE) proceedings," said Mr McGuigan. In order to successfully address these challenges, Inspectors have recommended the existing regime at the JJC should be redesigned to take account of the needs of older children including 17-year-olds, while maintaining its existing child-centred ethos. And they have called for the Youth Justice Agency which operates the JJC to work with its statutory partners to reduce inappropriate use of the 9.3m a year facility. "Inspectors accept that the JJC has and can provide stability in times of crisis, but committing a child to custody should be an action of last resort. Placements should not be based on expediency or - as in the case of PACE - more on proximity to the JJC rather than any other criterion," said Mr McGuigan. The Chief Inspector said Inspectors had also recommended steps should be taken to improve current arrangements for children who do not have suitable bail addresses and those who refuse to perfect their personal bail by opting to remain in custody until accommodation of their choice becomes available. Details: Belfast: Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland, 2015. 55p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 3, 2015 at: http://www.cjini.org/CJNI/files/fb/fb2b3c05-0ec8-47cc-9d63-35443b8e1d97.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.cjini.org/CJNI/files/fb/fb2b3c05-0ec8-47cc-9d63-35443b8e1d97.pdf Shelf Number: 135868 Keywords: Costs of Criminal JusticeJuvenile DetentionJuvenile Justice (Northern Ireland)Re-Offending |