22 July 2013

New T2A Maturity Practice Guide for probation launched

News and events

The Transition to Adulthood (T2A) Alliance and the University of Birmingham (Institute of Applied Social Studies) have today published a new guide for probation practitioners to help them take account of maturity when completing an assessment of needs and risks for young adult offenders aged 18-24.

 

Earlier this year, the practice guide was trialled with the two largest probation areas; London Probation Trust and Staffordshire and West Midlands Probation Trust. It was found that, by using the guide, probation staff could strengthen the quality and effectiveness of Pre-Sentence Reports (PSRs) and proposals to sentencers. As well as explaining what maturity means in a criminal justice context, the guide poses a series of questions that will help practitioners to make a sound judgement about a young adult’s level of maturity.

 

Since 2011, adult sentencing guidelines published by the Sentencing Council for England and Wales have stated that consideration should be given to ‘lack of maturity’ as a potential mitigating factor in sentencing decisions for adults. Furthermore, in 2013 the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) issued a new Code of Conduct which for first time included maturity as a factor for consideration of culpability as part of its public interest test.

 

These changes to policy and practice have significant implications for agencies working with young adult offenders throughout the criminal justice process, including the police, the CPS, the probation service, sentencers and practitioners delivering services.

 

In July, the Probation Chiefs Association (PCA) held a round-table on young adults in the criminal justice system at which the guide was welcomed by practitioners and policy-makers.

 

David Chantler, Chief Executive Officer of West Mercia Probation Trust said the guide would help tackle a long-standing challenge for probation:

 

“We have talked about taking  maturity into account for a long time, but I confess I have always been stumped about how you would actually do it. I think this maturity Guide leads us into this in a way that avoids stigmatisation and labelling, and integrates with existing process – it is a very mature response to a wicked issue”.

 

Andrew Hillas, the Probation Chiefs Association lead on young adults and Assistant Chief Officer at London Probation Trust, welcomed the guide as a means to support a more effective approach for young adults:

 

“It is a very positive development that Sentencing Guidelines now acknowledge the importance of taking maturity into account when determining a sentence. However, there is a significant gap in Probation knowledge, training and practice in how to undertake skilled maturity assessments so that they can advise sentencers on maturity issues through Pre-Sentence Reports.

 

“I was very encouraged to learn that T2A wanted to address this key knowledge gap and that they had commissioned Birmingham University to develop this Practitioner Guide.

 

“Having participated fully in the piloting of the Guide in London, I have experienced its usefulness at first hand and am very impressed with both the quality and the accessibility of the Guide; I would warmly recommend the Guide to be used by Probation practitioners across the country

to ensure that the maturity of young adult offenders is routinely taken into account in the assessment and sentencing process, thus contributing to the provision of more effective justice for this group.”

 

Notes

 

The maturity practice guide (funded by the Barrow Cadbury Trust as part of its T2A programme) is intended to be used in conjunction with the Offender Assessment System (OASys) tool.

 

The Guide is available for free via download or in hard copy. For more information, or to request copies of the guide, please contact Max Rutherford, Criminal Justice Programme Manager at the Barrow Cadbury Trust ([email protected]).

 

Download the Guide here