Young adults set out their 10-point plan for Police and Crime Commissioners
Revolving Doors Agency have produced 10 key points for Police and Crime Plans, in partnership with the Transition to Adulthood Alliance. The 10 points developed with young adults with lived experience of the criminal justice system highlight the need for Police and Crime Commissioners to ensure policing plans include a distinct approach to young adults in order to support them away from crime.
Revolving Doors are urging PCCs to adopt these 10 points to improve diversion, facilitate the prevention and reduction of crime among young adults, and support them to develop and create positive adult identities.
Police and Crime plans should include strategies to:
- Create a distinct approach to engaging and collaborating with young adults.
- Work to understand and address disparities in the public’s trust in policing in order to improve reporting of crime amongst young adults.
- Ensure police and local partner agencies have access to training on developmental maturity.
- Develop tailored diversion approaches for young adults who commit low level offences.
- Improve responses for young adults with multiple needs and facilitate effective transition between child and adult services.
- Develop restorative justice at every stage of the criminal justice process.
- Consider maturity as part of the decision-making process on arrest, charge and prosecution.
- Create a women-specific approach, which includes addressing the particular needs of young adult women.
- Create racially and culturally sensitive services.
- Promote careers and employment pathways for young adults as a route away from crime.
Pavan Dhaliwal, Chief Executive of Revolving Doors Agency, said,
“Police and Crime Commissioners play a crucial role in helping young adults move away from the criminal justice system. By adopting a distinct approach to young adults, and a focus on diversion, Police and Crime Commissioners can reduce reoffending, build stronger communities, and help young adults turn their lives around.
This 10-point plan sets out lived-experience informed priorities to prevent and reduce crime while supporting young adults to reach their potential. It is vital that Police and Crime Commissioners prioritise young adults in their plans, so that this group no longer fall through the cracks of the system and are instead given the opportunity to thrive.”
Joyce Moseley, Chair, T2A said:
“Following the recent election of the Police and Crime Commissioners across England and Wales there is now a unique opportunity to develop services that support young adults to move away from crime. PCCs have a crucial role in tailoring services for local communities and the 10-point plan provides practical steps to engage young adults involved in crime as well as supporting young adult victims of crime.”
NOTES
The Transition to Adulthood Alliance, run by the Barrow Cadbury Trust, has funded a collection of projects to build the evidence base on effective engagement with young adults at risk of, or involved in, offending. The Alliance has worked in partnership with the Revolving Doors Agency, the Centre for Justice Innovation, the Police Foundation and the Criminal Justice Alliance to examine policing practice and identify evidence-based and emerging approaches being delivered by the police and/or funded by Police and Crime Commissioners.
