www.wiltshire.gov.uk
Information for Head Teachers and Governors
Crime and Disorder Act 1998
The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 Section 17 stipulates that Local Authorities and other public bodies must consider the crime and disorder implications of all their decisions.
Section 5 (1) of the Act places on local authorities and the police a joint responsibility for the formulation of crime and disorder reduction strategies within the Borough. Section 5 (2) of the Crime & Disorder Act goes on to name Governing Bodies of schools as being responsible as a “co-operating Body” with a shared responsibility for the reduction of crime. For example, in Wiltshire the County Council has targets for reducing truancy and exclusion and re-offending by looked after children. Schools thereby need to give consideration to developing policies to maximise school attendance; to facilitiate educational provision for excluded children.
The Education Department has a duty to be represented on the local Community Safety Partnership and to be represented in multi-agency approaches to tackling youth crime, such as Youth Inclusion and Support Panels (see below), and Youth Offending Teams.
Preventing Crime
The Youth Justice Board (YJB) has developed a number of prevention programmes, which aim to reduce the number of children and young people involved in, or at risk of becoming involved in, offending or anti-social behaviour. For example Youth Inclusion Programmes, Youth Inclusion and Support Panels, Safer School Partnerships and mentoring programmes are all designed to prevent young people being drawn into criminal behaviour before it starts.
In Wiltshire, there is a Youth Inclusion and Support Panel, for 8 – 13 year olds, called Families in Focus; this is a multi-agency partnership that includes representation from Education. For more information on Families in Focus, contact: 01225 768684.
Children involved in offending or anti-social behaviour
The Youth Offending Service should be working with young people who have been charged with or convicted of an offence. Contact Ian Langley, Head of Service, Wiltshire Youth Offending Service, Court Mills Building, Polebarn Road, Trowbridge, BA14 7EG, telephone: 01225 781202, email ianlangley@wiltshire.gov.uk.
The No-Way Trust (also known as Prison! Me! No Way!) give mainstream school presentations on prisons and prison life to individual classes and runs Crime and Safety Awareness Days for schools. It also has a range of resources for teachers, and runs Prison Officer Assisted Youth Offending Team Schemes for young people involved in offending behaviour.
National information about young people, offending and the criminal justice system can be found to the right:
If you have any comments or suggestions about the safer schools pages, please send them to saferschools@wiltshire.gov.uk or fill in and return our feedback form.
