Cork East Fine Gael TD, and Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality David Stanton has jointly published a progress report on ‘Tackling Youth Crime’ the Youth Justice Action Plan 2014-2018 with Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Dr Katherine Zappone, T.D. The Report outlines the progress made in 2014 and 2015 in implementing the Action Plan.
“‘Tackling Youth Crime’ was launched in April 2014 and focuses on children and young people who are involved in the youth justice system and require targeted, strategic supports. The Action Plan includes a number of specific goals and objectives aimed at delivering better outcomes for children who get into trouble with the law, to reduce crime and make communities safer”, said Minister Stanton.
Implementation of the Action Plan is coordinated by a Cross-Agency Implementation Team led by the Irish Youth Justice Service. The Progress Report sets out an extensive list of developments over the period 2014/2015 which include the development of a Bail Supervision Scheme for young offenders, the extension of the Garda Youth Diversion Project Network, the enactment of the Children (Amendment) Act 2015 which provides for the amalgamation of the three Children Detention Schools in and the completion of a study examining the influence of criminal networks on prolific youth offending.
In publishing the Report today the Minister Stanton said, “Significant progress was made by the various criminal justice agencies and Tusla in 2014 and 2015 in implementing actions set out in the Plan and my Department and the Department of Children and Youth Affairs will be working closely with the relevant agencies to implement the remainder of the plan’.
“When we look at youth crime data statistics and see the reductions in numbers of young people being referred to the statutory Garda Diversion Programme in recent years points to the positive impacts of the Programme, supported by community based youth crime interventions, in addressing the bulk of youth offending behaviour.”
The Progress Report is available on the websites of the Irish Youth Justice
Service at: http://www.iyjs.ie/en/IYJS/Final 2014-2015 YJAP Progress Report.pdf/Files/Final 2014-2015 YJAP Progress Report.pdf
