A YOUTH justice service tasked with helping children in Southend avoid becoming involved with criminality has been ordered to improve.

Inspectors from the HM Inspectorate of Probation highlighted that past behaviours and convictions were not consistently considered when assessing potential harm risk.

They also criticised the service for a “lack of clarity” in how children’s risk were being managed.

Despite the concerns, there was praise for “enthusiastic, positive, and motivated” staff.

The service works with children between ten-years-old and 17 who have been flagged by police for coming into, or almost coming into, trouble with the law.

In response to the findings, Laurie Burton, councillor responsible for children, young people, and SEND, said: “The report highlights our strengths and also areas that we can improve as a youth justice service. As a council, we are committed to improving the service and while the report indicates that there is more work to do, it also reflects the dedication and commitment of our staff, volunteers and partners who are working tirelessly to support the young people in Southend.

“While we acknowledge that there are some things we need to work on, we are confident that we can improve them quickly, building upon the strengths identified in the inspection and the commitment of our team.”

The service “supervises children with complex needs” and have often found themselves in trouble with the law.

The service has been given seven recommendations for improvement to make following the inspection.

This includes, the chair of the management board “ensuring its members have sufficient knowledge of the youth justice system to drive improvements”.

The board “should address the over-representation of care-experienced children and work to prevent their unnecessary criminalisation”.

Additionally, it “should review children’s custody experiences and take collective responsibility for their well-being, while ensuring those in the system have access to speech and language services”.

The head of service “should review risk management practices, improve resettlement support, and strengthen management oversight to drive consistent improvements in service quality”.