All children and young people should be able to live happy, safe and crime-free lives and grow up in circumstances which will provide them with a firm foundation for the rest of their lives. However, some of these young people find themselves growing up in circumstances which fall short of these ideals.
There are a few families in the city who cause a disproportionate amount of disruption in their neighbourhoods and significant harm to individuals. These families tend to have a complex range of issues which can lead to them becoming socially excluded or homeless. There is increased risk of the children offending, becoming highly vulnerable, being placed on child protection plans or sometimes being taken into care. Besides the emotional and, at times, physical harm that can result, it is very costly to our city – police call outs, enforcement actions, statutory social care interventions are all highly expensive.
While there has been a decline in the number of young people entering the youth justice system, repeat offending by those young offenders has been on an upward trend.