Child Sexually Offending

The Ministry of Justice has published Examining Multi-agency Responses to Children and Young People who Sexually Offend.

The report considers missed opportunities to prevent reoffending by children and young people who sexually offend and reflects the findings of a range of establishments including HM Inspectorate of Probation, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary, Ofsted, the Care Quality Commission and HM Inspectorate of Prisons. Key findings from inspectors highlighted in the report include:

  • Cases were slow to reach court, and took approximately eight months between disclosure and sentence, resulting in lengthy periods when little/no work was done with the young person
  • Much work was characterised by poor communication between the relevant agencies and limited joint planning
  • Many young people had complex and multiple needs and there were few examples of positive holistic interventions involving joint working
  • Once these children had been picked up by the justice system, their chances for rehabilitation improved and they clearly benefitted from the child-focused approach by YOT workers.