EVIDENCE TO THE GRAHAM ALLEN REVIEW ON ….docVIP

EVIDENCE TO THE GRAHAM ALLEN REVIEW ON EARLY INTERVENTION DELIVERY David Utting Secretary to the Independent Commission on Youth Crime and Antisocial Behaviour Email address: david.utting@.uk Website: .uk Introduction The Independent Commission on Youth Crime and Antisocial Behaviour, chaired by Anthony Salz, published its report Time for a fresh start in July 2010. It sets out a strategic blueprint for reforming the response to antisocial behaviour offending and offending by children and young people based on key underlying principles of: prevention (addressing the underlying circumstances and needs in children and young people’s lives) restoration (ensuring that children and young people responsible for antisocial behaviour and offending face meaningful consequences that hold them accountable for harm causes to victims and the wider community) integration (seeking to retain children and young people who offend within mainstream society and reconnect them in ways that enable them to lead law-abiding lives. A copy of the full report and its executive summary are enclosed with this submission. However, our comments relate only to the first of these principles, which is of particular relevance to the Review. On its own terms, the Commission has concluded that: prevention and early intervention should be given a higher profile in tackling crime and antisocial behaviour. an understanding of risk and protective factors in children and young people’s lives provides a valuable basis for understanding how preventive services produce positive results and for planning and evaluating strategies. Although there is more to be learned about causal pathways, there is already more than enough knowledge about relevant factors and promising interventions to justify early intervention as part of a public health approach to promoting children’s welfare. Research has highlighted a growing range of preventive interventions capable of reducing persistent, severe childhood behaviour proble