Strategy to break link between poor health and youth crime

Healthy Children, Safer Communities focuses on early intervention to address health problems to ensure the underlying causes of bad behaviour are tackled before problems become serious.

It also aims to ensure that young people already in the system have their health problems dealt with more effectively.

Care services minister Phil Hope said evidence suggests health is a key risk factor in youth crime.

Of children and young people in contact with the youth justice system, half have difficulties with speech and communication, a third have diagnosed mental health issues and a quarter have a long-term physical complaint.  

Hope said the strategy will encourage access to training for everyone who works with children to help them spot mental health issues early.

It will also promote specialist interventions such as youth justice liaison projects to divert more children from the justice system to appropriate services, and to try to reduce offending and reoffending.

Meanwhile all children receiving a community or custodial sentence will have a healthcare plan, developed alongside their sentence plan, to address their specific needs.

"Young people end up involved with crime for a complex mix of reasons," Hope said.

"This strategy creates better links between health services and the justice and education systems.

"It will enable services to deal with all the problems a vulnerable child faces at one time reducing the risk that they will turn to crime.

"Government reforms are already cutting youth crime, I’m confident that through more effective use of health services we can reduce it further."