Archive of March, 2019

Cordis Pulse: March 2019

March 2019

With increasing public, political and media attention directed at knife crime and serious violence, we have produced a blog-post which discusses the promise of taking a public health approach to addressing the issue. The full blog can be seen here.

Linked to this are the new Standards for children in the Youth Justice System 2019 which the Ministry of Justice and the Youth Justice Board have launched to replace the 2013 standards. The Government says that it is committed to maintaining a distinct Youth Justice System which delivers justice for those who are victims whilst also rehabilitating offenders. The principle of “child first” and “offender second” is a key feature of these new standards.

The five standards cover practice: (1) out of court disposals; (2) at court; (3) in the community (court disposals), (4) in secure settings, and (5) on transition and resettlement. They are intended to guide strategic and operational services’ understanding of what is expected, but do not prescribe the services that should be designed and delivered. This provides Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) with an opportunity to shape how the standards will be delivered and will give them scope to adhere to the minimum standards or go above and beyond (where needed) depending on local priorities.

Cordis Bright has advised Youth Offending Team Boards in scoping these new standards in conjunction with their strategic National Probation Service (NPS) representative; their expertise will be invaluable in ensuring that YOTs deliver in the best way to meet the needs of children and young people in their area.

The YJB have a duty to have oversight of the standards to determine whether services are demonstrating accountability, improvements and showing evidence of impact and influence. This is where we can help, by assisting in developing/ revising local protocols for all five standards, or by way of case file audit. We are currently able to offer a service of auditing two cases over the course of a day against the new standards at no cost, in order to give you a flavour of the power of case file auditing. If you would you like to discuss this further or take up this option please contact Kam Kaur on 07919 483968 or via email: kamkaur@cordisbright.co.uk.

Read more by downloading the Pulse below.

Knife crime and violence

March 2019

We’ve been hearing a lot about violence, especially knife violence, over the last few weeks and months. Reports of deaths from knife crime are multiplying in the news, with reports that the number of teenagers killed with a knife has almost doubled in the last five years, and that at least ten have died so far in 2019 alone (4 March 2019).

Unsurprisingly, the immediate public response has been urgent and upset. Commentators are focussed on the need for more effective police enforcement to stop knife crime, even going as far as saying it should be treated as a national security crisis. Perhaps more unexpected is the reaction of ministers: Chancellor Philip Hammond announced in the Spring Statement last week (13 March) that an extra £100 million would be released for police enforcement against knife crime in England and Wales. There is no denying that this cash injection will be welcome after years of budget cuts for police. However, the £100 million falls short of the amount requested by police chiefs and is unlikely to be enough to address the root causes of knife crime and youth violence – especially given rising evidence that criminal justice interventions are ‘both damaging and disproportionate’.

For a realistic long-term strategy, we look to a different approach, which has been gaining traction in the world of prevention. As reported in a review of the evidence published last year by the LGA, with support from Cordis Bright, the public health approach to reducing violence offers a realistic alternative to tackling the violence problem, with a growing body of evidence to support interventions that look at violence from the public health perspective.

Download the blog below for further information.

Cordis Podcast: substance misuse treatment

March 2019

The Cordis Podcast provides a concise and accessible insight into key issues across a broad range of social sectors, including children and young people's services, adult social care, criminal justice, community healthcare and the independent sector. Each episode addresses a different topic through interviews with our own research and consultancy team as well as insight from relevant experts within the field.

In this episode, Hannah Marshall interviews Cordis Bright Consultant Emma Van Oss on the topic of integration in services for substance misuse treatment. It looks to understand what more services can do to effectively transition those affected by substance misuse from prison to community services.

You can listen on SoundCloud here.