The departure of Ellie Roy from the Youth Justice Board, came as little surprise last week to prison reformers. There were rumours that her days as chief executive were numbered ever since the appointment of new chair, Frances Done.
Done, a former Audit Commission inspector, was reported in Children and Young People Now to be concerned that Roy's marriage to Phil Wheatley prison services supremo presented a conflict of interest; comprising the board's ability to criticise the prison service. And indeed criminal justice campaigners have commented that under Roy's watch the YJB has been at times less than forceful in its condemnation of failures at youth offending institutes.
When Roy first landed the YJB job four years ago she dismissed the suggestion that her marriage could prove a problem as "neither here nor there". Since Wheatley's promotion, however, to oversee both prisons and probation following the restructuring of the National Offender Management Services earlier this year, had Roy's position become untenable?
Some campaigners welcome her departure. They say the organisation has lost its vision and has become too focused on buying custodial places for young people rather than preventing them from offending and reoffending.
There are signs that the tide could be turning. On the day that Roy announced her departure "with great sadness" - according to a statement on the YJB website - the organisaton issued a warning about Oakhill Secure Training Centre. The STC in Milton Keynes run by G4S (Group 4 Securicor) has breached the terms of its contract with the YJB which is to provide 80 places for young offenders. Instead, only 40 places are available. The rectification notice could result in the operator receiving a hefty fine if it does not come up with an additional 40 places within 60 days. Despite experiencing many problems with G4S's service over the past four years, it is perhaps indicative of the concerns raised by campaigners that this is the first time the YJB has issued one of these notices.
This tougher approach is attributed to Done whose appointment in January was greeted by disquiet by some campaigners because of here lack of track record of working with children or in the youth justice. But they are now warming to the one-time accountant who has not been seen much in public but behind the scenes is quietly shaking up the organisation. The change could not come soon enough, The government is to issue its Youth Action Plan this summer and the future of the YJB is unclear.
The performance of youth offending teams (Yots) varies enormously around England and Wales, from the outstanding to the mediocre. They currently report to the Youth Justice Board, but may be more effective if they were part of the local authority which would allow them to work more closely with children's services to secure the support many young offenders desperately need. If that happened, the YJB could become redundant.
According to a damming report by the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies its demise would make litte difference to youth crime. The report concludes that despite a 45% increase in spending on youth justice since 2000/01 by the YJB and agencies that contribute to Yots, there has been no measurable impact on reducing crime among young people. So do we need a YJB? What could replace it?
