Agenda item

The Executive Member for Children, Young People and Families will present to the Committee.

Councillor Caluori, Executive Member for Children, Young People, and Families, presented to the Committee. The presentation focused on youth crime performance and school results.

The following main points were noted in the discussion:

·         The Youth Crime plan was launched one year ago.  Councillor Caluori summarised the progress of the Integrated Gangs Team and the Youth Offending Service over this time, noting that the ISS service, which provided an intensive alternative to custody, was showing signs of success.

·         Trauma informed training was provided to teachers and youth workers. Councillor Caluori had attended a training session and commented on the importance of supporting children who had adverse childhood experiences.

·         It was thought that the additional investment in youth services had a positive impact on youth crime performance. Islington had its smallest youth offending service cohort since 2010, and youth violence had slightly decreased, compared to a London-wide overall increase.

·         Councillor Caluori was pleased with the progress the Youth Offending Service had made since its previous inspections, which had rightly highlighted the service’s inadequacies. It was expected that the service would be the subject of a further inspection in the near future.

·         Although snatch theft offences had increased over the past year, there had been a significant 60% decrease since the introduction of Operation Gondola in January 2018.

·         The Integrated Gangs Team included representatives of both the Police and the Council and offered young people support; including access to mental health support, gang exit advice, caseworkers, and educational psychologists. The team had been highlighted as an example of good practice in the national and local press. Data indicated that the team was having a positive impact.

·         The Council has commissioned the St Giles Trust to support young people in exiting gangs. Although only 5 of the 68 young people engaged in the service had confirmed that they had exited gangs, it was commented that this was a slow process and the offending rate of participants had decreased.

·         Councillor Caluori commented on the importance of disrupting the local drugs market that was fuelling gang violence and other offending.

·         The number of violent street robberies had increased, these often involved young people armed with knives following adults from transport hubs and seizing their laptops, phones and wallets. The council was requesting that the Police place greater emphasis on disrupting this activity, however it was appreciated that this was challenging due to limited Police resources.

·         Councillor Caluori was pleased with the progress of Islington schools, and commented on the importance of supporting all pupils to achieve their potential.

·         The Committee expressed concern that the number of exclusions in Islington primary and secondary schools was above the Inner London average. Councillor Caluori noted that there was an unequal distribution of exclusions between schools; some schools regularly excluded pupils, whereas others hardly ever excluded pupils. It was commented that this inconsistency could be a source of frustration for parents, and it was important for schools to have a transparent exclusions policy.

·         The Committee queried why some schools appeared to be more ready to exclude pupils than others. In response, it was thought that some schools did not seek support on managing behaviour or implement effective interventions at an early enough stage.

·         It was commented that, although excluded pupils exhibited very disruptive behaviour, this could sometimes be triggered by an adverse or traumatic experience and their behaviour may be out of character. It was thought that such pupils should be offered comprehensive support.

·         In response to a question, it was commented that cuts to Police resources had resulted in significant reductions to neighbourhood policing. Safer Neighbourhood Teams were previously comprised of 3 PCSOs, 3 PCs and one Sergeant; however, they were now comprised of 2 PCSOs and half a PC per area. It was noted that reductions in Police resources appeared to correlate to an increase in violent crime, and that effective neighbourhood policing had the potential to disrupt gang activity and serious youth violence.

·         It was queried if Islington Council would be making use of powers to evict families in social housing where the children were offending or involved in gang activity. In response, it was advised that such powers must not be used disproportionately, however the threat of eviction could be an effective tool in the small number of cases where parents were colluding with young offenders or actively supporting or profiting from their activities. The Committee noted that some young people could be coerced into gang activity, so such powers had to be used cautiously. It was commented that the council had to be transparent about how it would exercise such powers, and the Committee noted concerns that eviction of a family could result in an increase in offending.

·         A member of the public asked what percentage of schools had visited the Ben Kinsella Trust knife crime exhibition. In response, it was confirmed that all schools had attended the exhibition at least once.

The Committee thanked Councillor Caluori for his attendance.