A government inspection has shown that the Gwynedd and Môn Youth Justice Service is serving the local community well, with some aspects of the work better than the national average.
This inspection of youth offending work in Gwynedd and Môn took place as part of the national Inspection of Youth Offending programme.
The inspection team looked at how well the service was performing in terms of assessing young people referred to the service; how the service intervenes to reduce offending; and the outcome of service’s work including reoffending and custody rates.
In his report, Andrew Bridges, HM Chief Inspector of Probation said that the inspection showed overall encouraging findings. Gwynedd and Môn YJS staff have been praised for their work – the report noted that they were committed to providing a quality service and were keen to learn from the inspection’s findings.
According to the authors, the inspection should provide a focus for further improvements within the service for the future.
There have been improvements in the service’s work since the last inspection report was published in 2008. Multi-agency work and the assessment and delivery of interventions have improved and the report also highlights that progress has been made in work with children and young people subject to a custodial sentence.
Stephen Wood, the Gwynedd and Môn Acting Service Manager said:
“I’m delighted by these results as they illustrate the hard work and dedication of the service staff and our partners.
“Young people in custody are often those who commit a disproportionate amount of crime and disorder within our communities.
“The effectiveness of our work with these young people will hopefully help to reassure communities that young people who offend or experience custody, can change.”
Richard Parry Jones, chairman of the Gwynedd and Môn YJS Board, said:
“The Management Board and I are very pleased and encouraged by these findings. We know that there are areas where we need to improve and we have action plans in development to address them.
“However, the inspection shows that we are on the right track with our efforts to help create safer communities and to provide children and young people the opportunities and support to change.
“Effective partnership working will be key to ensuring sustained success.”
