The Youth Justice Board, which oversees the youth justice system in England and Wales, has been asked to make savings by the Government of £13.5 million.
Nottingham’s Youth Offending Team and Paddy Tipping – Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner met with Lord McNally, Chair of the Youth Justice Board to show him the work they have been doing to help the young people in Nottingham.
Nottingham Youth Offending Team is a partnership of agencies who work together to prevent youths from offending and reduce them from re-offending. They work hard to prevent young people from being involved in crime around Nottingham.
Shelly Nicholls, Service Manager for the Youth Offending Tam said: “We want to show Lord McNally the breadth of what we do”.
“If funding were reduced significantly we would not be able to do some of the more creative work we do to actually ensure that we tackle the re-offending rates, and make Nottingham a safer place”.
Lord McNally said: “We’re all going to have to do a bit more for a bit less – one of the things I want to do is to see where things are working well and see if we can get the best practise across the system.”
“We are hoping to make a case to keep the cuts down to a minimum and find smart ways to make that money go further”.
Paddy Tipping the Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner said: “Nottingham has got a good reputation, it is seen as a track leader, we want to showcase what we are doing but we also want to hold up a warning card to say we know the budget has been cut, but we want to continue helping the youth of Nottingham”.
“I think we may face a 13.5% cut, but part of the purpose of the visit to day is to make the case for Nottingham and the young people of Nottingham because young people are our future”
“The bulk of offending is connected by young people, under the age of 25 so if we reduce the services more people could be at risk of offending, we could face higher crime rates in Nottinghamshire”
