The “sky-high” rate of reoffending by young criminals must be reversed, the Justice Minister Jeremy Wright said as new plans were unveiled to rehabilitate young offenders through better education and training.
One of the groups who will benefit from this change is young black men, who are currently over represented in the youth estate. They make up nearly a quarter of the youth custody population this is despite the fact that they only make up 5% of the general population.
Almost three quarters of young offenders return to crime when they are released. Currently, young offenders spend on average just 12 hours a week in education. Under new proposals this would be more than doubled to give young offenders much more time in the classroom to help them develop the skills they need to turn their back on crime.
Under the plans to transform youth custody, a pioneering Secure College will be built in the East Midlands. These Secure Colleges will provide young offenders strong discipline, while focusing squarely on rehabilitation and education. These establishments will have a head teacher or principal at the core of a leadership team made up of educational professionals and offender managers.
Justice Minister Jeremy Wright: “Nearly a quarter of the population in the youth estate are from the black community which is a vast over-representation of the custodial population. This is one of the groups who will benefit from the changes we are announcing.
Currently a youth custodial place costs an average of £100,000 – but despite this nearly three-quarters of young offenders who leave custody reoffend within a year; this is unacceptable
We need to tackle the root cause of youth offending. This is why we are developing Secure Colleges, which will have education at the heart of detention. This will help equip young offenders with the necessary skills, qualifications and self-discipline that they need to turn their lives around”
At any one time, there are about 1,000 young people in youth custody across Britain. Nearly three quarters of young offenders who leave custody reoffend within a year. In order to help them turn their backs on crime education, vocational training and work skills will become a central part of a young offender’s daily routine, giving them the tools they need to turn their lives around and increase their chances of getting a job after release.
The Government is also taking steps to improve the help given to young offenders when they leave custody so that more are encouraged to go into education, training or employment and fewer go on to reoffend.
