Another blow as youth justice chief quits
The pressure on the home secretary increased today with news that the head of the Youth Justice Board (YJB), a strong critic of the government’s offender policies, has resigned.
The news about Rod Morgan could not come at a worse time for John Reid, who is fighting off claims that his efforts to deal with prison overcrowding are resulting in dangerous criminals being allowed to walk free.
“Apart from reinforcing the existing chaos in the Home Office this is a demonstration of the lack of the government’s own credibility,” said shadow home secretary David Davis.
Professor Morgan is an outspoken critic of the government’s young offender policies, warning that too many children are being locked up. Last autumn he said urgent action was needed to cut the numbers of youngsters in custody to avoid a “meltdown”.
And in an interview to mark today’s resignation announcement, to be screened tonight, he reaffirmed his belief that too much time was being spent dealing with petty criminals at the expense of protecting the public from the most dangerous offenders.
“What we shouldn’t be doing is cluttering up the caseloads of the youth offending teams and the probation service with minor offenders who in former times would have been dealt with in situ, pre-court or in way of discharges or fines,” he told BBC Two’s Newsnight.
The former chief inspector of probation has also previously criticised the way anti-social behaviour orders (Asbos) are handed out to young people, saying they should only be used in conjunction with youth offender teams and only as a “last resort”.
However, a Home Office said it made “no apology for tackling crime, regardless of the age”. The vast majority of action to tackle anti-social behaviour did not involve Asbos, he said, noting progress had been made in prevention and early intervention measures.
The spokesman added: “Custody is a last resort for young offenders. We are working closely with the YJB to manage the current high level of young people in custody.”
In a statement, the chief executive of the Youth Justice Board, Ellie Roy, paid tribute to Professor Morgan as a “tireless champion of youth justice and young people” and an “inspiration” to all those working to reduce re-offending by children.
Home Office minister Baroness Scotland also thanked the outgoing chairman, saying he had been a “passionate advocate for children and an excellent representative of youth justice practitioners and stakeholders”.
She added: “Under his chairmanship the Youth Justice Board has developed innovative prevention programmes to divert children and young people from crime, reflecting Rod’s commitment to keeping children out of the criminal justice system whenever possible.”
Professor Morgan’s three-year contract as chairman of the board expires on April 4th, and he announced today that he would not be reapplying for the job.
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