Justice system 'is failing young' - Regeneration and Renewal

A report due to be released this week by the Transition to Adulthood Alliance (T2A), which includes think-tank the Young Foundation and charity the Barrow Cadbury Trust, will say that young offender institutions should do more to help young offenders find jobs at the end of their sentences, as a lack of employment support and skills opportunities contributes to the group's high reoffending rates.

The report will recommend that sentences of less than six months should be abolished in favour of community sentences, and will call for the Government to reinvest the money that it would save from the resulting fall in the custody rate into community-based alternatives that could help tackle deep-rooted drug, alcohol, mental health and social exclusion problems.

T2A chair Shan Nicholas said: "Experience shows that this is the best solution for young offenders and for those communities affected by criminal behaviour."

T2A's recommendations come shortly after the Government announced a new youth rehabilitation order. This will provide judges and magistrates with a choice of 18 community orders with which they can create a sentence that is tailored to the individual circumstances of each young offender and aims to better tackle the underlying causes of youth crime.

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