Staffordshire Commissioner Matthew Ellis is backing a national move to save the huge cost on society and people’s lives of young offenders stuck in a revolving door of crime.
Mr Ellis said the Revolving Door Agency was right to highlight the misery that destroys lives, families and communities by those aged 18 to 25 getting stuck in a cycle of low level crime. This could be prevented if the criminal justice system took a ‘smarter’ approach and intervened earlier, he said.
‘This is something we’ve been working on for some time now in Staffordshire. This is a depressingly familiar cycle and the huge impact it has, often on generations of families, was a key finding in our Criminality in Prisons report published last year.
‘I’ve always been in favour of prevention and if the criminal justice system took a smarter approach and intervened earlier in young lives where necessary, then many lives could be changed forever, stopping the huge human and financial costs to society.
‘Our multi-agency Reducing Reoffending Strategy in Staffordshire is already reducing the number of young people entering the justice system for the first time.
‘For minor offences there are opportunities for young people to be dealt with outside of the criminal justice system, which can stop them being pulled into that cycle of crime, which impacts us all ultimately, as victims of crime and taxpayers.’
Over the last few years important work has been progressed in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent with Children’s Services under the Troubled Families programme to increase opportunities for early intervention for those identified as vulnerable and at risk of becoming involved in offending.
There has also been work in schools to alert children to the risk of situations and networks, which may place them at risk of exposure to and potential involvement in offending behaviour.
Revolving Doors believes there is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to stop this cycle of crime and crisis and is committing to taking action.
Other measures already taken and underway in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent include working with police, Youth Offending Teams and other agencies to improve the range of Out of Court disposals available to ensure, where appropriate, that young people are diverted away from first time contact with the criminal justice system and dealt with without an unnecessary court appearance.
There is evidence this approach is beginning to work and have positive results with the number of people entering the criminal justice system for the first time having reduced year on year.
‘Despite this hard work and signs of real results, there is more that can be done though,’ added Mr Ellis.
‘That is why I welcome this move by Revolving Doors and my team and I will explore with partners how we can do even more to break these destructive cycles.’
