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Worrying emphasis on custody in Mayor’s youth crime plan
Commenting on the launch of Time for Action, the Mayor of London’s youth crime action plan, Debra Clothier, National Policy Development Manager for Nacro, the crime reduction charity, said:
“The Mayor rightly recognises the long-term root causes of crime and makes useful comments about increasing positive activities for young people and providing more support for young people in care.
“However, all of these good intentions could be undone by his worrying emphasis on custody.
“Instead of making custody for first time offenders more attractive to sentencers, and thereby increasing the child prison population, the Mayor should redouble his efforts to keep young offenders out of jail.
“Imprisonment can have a devastating impact on a child’s family relationships, home and accommodation, education and employment opportunities.
“If the Mayor is really committed to ‘what works’ practically and financially then he should increase efforts to keep all but the most violent offenders out of jail, and strengthen community sentences to help them turn their lives around more effectively.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors
Mayor of London Boris Johnson today launched ‘Time for Action’ on youth crime. Information is available at: http://www.london.gov.uk/view_press_release.jsp?releaseid=19536
Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, youth crime, custody, Debra Clothier
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