Agenda item

To receive a report which sets out the approach being taken to manage adolescent risk in Kent through the Change for Kent Children programme. The Committee is asked to comment on and note the report.

Mr Genoni (Project Director, Change for Kent Children) was in attendance for this item.

1.          Mr Genoni introduced the report which set out the changing profile of adolescent risk nationally, putting this within the Kent context.

Mr Collins and Mr Genoni then responded to comments and questions from Members, including the following: -

a)    Mr Genoni talked about the current measures that were in place which sought to address issues relating to youth gangs and knife crime in Kent, the measures that were in place included closer working relationships between services and improving the communication between services.

b)    Mr Collins briefly touched upon the staffing arrangements that were in place within the new service.

c)    Mr Collins emphasised the importance of close working relationships between services in relation to mitigating risks and talked about the extensive work that Kent County Council had undertaken with the University of Bedfordshire in regard to contextual safeguarding and early intervention.

d)    Mr Genoni confirmed that the number of serious youth violence offences in Kent had not been increasing.

e)    Mr Genoni talked about the financial impacts that could arise from managing adolescent risk in Kent and referred the successful bid money which had been received to the support families of young people that had been involved in youth crime.

f)     Mr Collins emphasised the importance of reducing key indicators such as children that were missing and children that were missing education.

g)    Mr Collins confirmed that Kent County Council were working closely with Kent Police to reduce the number of children that were missing and stop child exploitation.

h)    Mr Collins briefly talked about the creation of the Violence Reduction Unit in Glasgow which had been created in a bid to reduce knife crime. He added that the work that Kent County Council had undertaken with the University of Bedfordshire in relation to addressing youth violence had been beneficial to services and referred to a pilot WhatsApp group that had been set up for parents in Ashford to use to communicate and ensure that their children remained safe.

i)     Mr Collins said that the work that had been undertaken in relation to contextual safeguarding included the safeguarding of young people with special educational needs.

j)     Mr Collins explained the different ways in which knife crime could be reported.

k)    Mr Collins said that the Governor at the Juvenile Prison and Young Offenders Institution, Cookham Wood in Rochester, regularly attended the County Youth Justice Board, he confirmed that the reports that were submitted to the Board could be made available to Members. He added that training opportunities were available to staff of Kent County Council at the Medway secure training centre.

l)  Mr Genoni said that the new adolescent service developed a more coherent service for all adolescents.

m)  Mr Dunkley reminded Members of the Committee that the report was evidence-based and highlighted the positive direction of travel in relation to mitigating risks and closer working relationships between services.

n)    Mr Genoni and Mr Collins talked briefly about the positive decrease in the number of first-time entrants into the criminal justice system in Kent and the re-offending rates referred to within the report.

2.          The Chairman suggested that a further report on progress be submitted to the Cabinet Committee in November 2019.

3.          RESOLVED that the report be noted.