The Council’s Youth Justice Service has set out its plans to help the city’s young people in the coming year and build on recent successes to steer them away from crime and keep them safe.
The service has to submit proposals every year for its aims and how it will achieve them.
The update on the existing two-year plan details how it will continue the work which was judged as ‘outstanding’ after the last inspection by HMI Probation.
The joint inspection on serious youth violence in March 2024 found the city had ‘achieved tangible and sustained progress’ to reduce harm to children from serious youth violence and child criminal exploitation over a number of years.
Inspectors from Ofsted, His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, the Care Quality Commission and His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation, looked at a number of areas and said children at risk of criminal exploitation and serious youth violence are safer as a result of the effective partnership work undertaken in the city.
It said there was a mature, coordinated approach to helping young people in the city, with a strong culture of support, collaboration and learning making a positive difference for highly vulnerable children in Coventry.
Now, the latest annual report sets out how the service will continue that progress and help even more young people.
The YJS aims to prevent offending and reduce the number of children entering the justice system, working with families, victims and partner organisations to keep children and young people away from crime and create safer communities.
The plan sets out how the service will continue the work of the past year that has helped to sustain reductions in the number of children with formal criminal records and maintain a low reoffending rate for children.
The plan also outlines how the service aims to reduce offences involving weapons and work to help those most at risk of offending, including new initiatives in the coming year to keep children in schools and improve work with children who are stopped and searched by the police.
Cllr Patricia Seaman, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said:
“There has been some fantastic work through the Youth Justice System in recent years that has made a real difference to the lives of many children, young people and families. Now we have to continue that work and go on to help even more in our city.
“The plans outlined for the coming year will not just help individuals, but whole communities, and we look forward to working with our partners to keep young people safe, and on the right path.”