Growth and development.pdf

4. Performance: Criminal JusticeKey ActivitiesNumber of social enquiry reports submitted to the courts 1,640 1,707 78.1 2during the yearNumber of community service orders made during the year 400 340 15.6 2The proportion of social enquiry reports reported to courtwithin target time2000-2001 QuartileProportion of social enquiry reports submitted to the courts 98.6 2by due dateThe time taken to complete community service orders1999-20002000-2001Average length of community service (hours) for orders 160 2completed during the yearAverage hours completed per week 3.9 22000-2001per 10,000QuartileA high rate of social enquiry reports was submitted to court in 2000-2001, and a relatively highproportion of them were submitted on time. The rate of community service orders madeduring the year was also relatively high. The average length of community service orders iscomparatively long and orders take a fairly long time to complete.The Council is grouped with North Lanarkshire for provision of criminal justice services. Thegrouping has enabled the sharing of resources, consistency of approach, and joint commissioningof services, for instance from SACRO and INCLUDEM. Shared management information iscurrently under consideration. Following a joint best value assessment of probation and courtservices, the grouping has agreed on a single court team, and on a model of assessment andcase management that will be jointly progressed through the training plan. Attention has beengiven to the particular needs of women offenders and the Grouping will pilot a programmespecifically for women in the autumn. There is no dedicated funding to develop this service.It can be difficult to meet the specific needs of chaotic women including those with a mentalhealth difficulty.The approach to quality assurance includes the periodic sampling of cases and external chairingof reviews. They are examining the use of LSI-R as an instrument that can track change overtime and provide an objective measure of the effectiveness of input, now that most staff havebeen trained in the use of this instrument. An electronic information system has beendeveloped to improve workload management and improve practice.Youth crime initiatives include:• a reparation and mediation and restorative conferencing service for young people,commissioned from SACRO;• a service for persistent young offenders aged 14-18, funded by criminal justice and childrenand families monies, and jointly commissioned from INCLUDEM by the two Lanarkshirecouncils; it targets those young people most at risk of residential care, secure accommodationor custody, offering individually tailored support packages, high-frequency contact and a24-hour helpline. Includem have developed a Restorative Justice programme, aimed atpersistent offenders, in conjunction with Victim Support which is funded separately; and• training in the use of the YLS assessment tool. A small group of childcare and criminal justicestaff has already received this training and the council intends to roll it out to all staff.246