Tackling persistent young offenders

We work closely with our partners in the criminal justice system to bring persistent young offenders (PYOs) to justice as quickly as possible.  This speedy response aims to make PYOs more directly accountable for their crimes and to help prevent them re-offending.

A young offender will be regarded as a PYO if he or she has been convicted of a criminal offence on three separate occasions, with the last of these occurring within three years of the current offence for which they have been charged.

The Government target for bringing PYOs to justice stands at 71 days; this is measured as the time from arrest to sentencing.  The latest figures show that the average arrest to sentence time for PYO cases processed by criminal justice agencies in Derbyshire between June and August 2005 was 67 days.  This is an excellent performance and reflects the efforts that have been made by all agencies involved to address the issue.

To ensure we maintain the momentum in dealing with PYOs we've joined colleagues from the magistrates' courts, the Youth Offending Service and the police in participating in monthly PYO Case Progression Meetings.  Held in both Chesterfield and Derby, these meetings provide opportunities to review the progress of outstanding PYO cases and agree ways forward in dealing with them.