“…. we are interested in how to capitalize on the skill and will of communities to assist those who live amongst them ….”

Just back from holiday on Iain MacAulay’s turf in Barra. I had met a social worker and carer from Barra in Glasgow on World Social Work Day and decided then to visit this most southerly Hebridean Island.

The Western Isles were of course beautiful as ever; they always give me a new perspective on life and work but this time the contrast with daily life was heightened. As we sailed across the Minch, the 42” plasma TV in the lounge was fixed on Sky News serving up seven hours of live footage from English cities depicting young people walking away with similar 42” plasma TVs from scenes of dread and destruction.

Whatever your take on these events, I am sure that you will agree that they were remarkable in terms of scale, significance and risk. Thankfully they did not spread to Scotland, and while we must never be complacent about these matters, Scotland has been at the centre of much recent interest in this regard. Prime Minister, David Cameron has said that he wants to build on the success of programmes to tackle gang culture like the task force used by Strathclyde Police.

In 2008, a Centre for Social Justice report found the city was home to more than 170 gangs, more than the number estimated to be operating in London at that time. The past few years has seen concentrated efforts and financial investment by both the Scottish Government and Strathclyde Police to tackle the problem. The force set up a dedicated Gangs Task Force in March 2008, to serve as a specialist unit to identify, find and arrest gang members involved in crime. Meanwhile the Community Initiative to Reduce Violence was established in December 2008 to tackle collective violence in the East End. The government estimated there were 55 gangs operating in the East End alone, involving 700 young men aged from as young as 12 up to 23 years old. The CIRV, based on the success of the Boston Ceasefire project, aims to break the cycle of deprivation which led young men to join gangs by providing them with other options.

Closer to home, ADSW has led a relevant area of work in the area of young people at risk -  ‘Plusone Mentoring’- sponsored by local authorities, the Violence Reduction Unit (police), the Scottish Government and delivered by YMCA Scotland. In recent years we have moved steadily away from a reactive approach - treating problems - to one of identifying early risk in order to support an individual’s healthy development and potential.

Evidence from practice elsewhere (Farrington 1996; Whyte 2004) shows that a diversion from future persistent offending is possible by addressing the several areas where mentoring can have a positive effect, including social skills, self-esteem and independence, emotional resilience, engagement with institutions, school attendance and performance, or arrangements in family and community. The Plusone mentoring programme was developed to target young people most likely to move further into the youth justice system and to do this at a stage of their development when change in behaviour and attitudes might be most easily achieved.

The approach has achieved outstanding results with significant change in behaviour at the six month stage.

·    “improvement was particularly strong in risk factors associated with  behaviour (86% showed improvement);

·    the young people’s attitudes to offending and other anti-social behaviors (86%);

·    the level of risk for the young people presented by their neighbourhood (64%);

·    with developing young people’s skills and positive relationships (64%).”

The evaluations demonstrate that the Plusone mentoring programme combines significant efficiency savings and effective diversion from crime with the re-engagement of the young people in positive development and activity.

Pilot work in the Scottish Borders by YMCA Scotland since 2005 has been testing the optimum age of engagement and change for a vulnerable young person. Intervention should take place only where necessary and only last for as long as it remains necessary for the young person’s healthy development. The learning from the Borders and from a Danish-based approach to youth crime piloted in East Renfrewshire shaped this early intervention approach. It is unusual in its targeting of a wider age group -8-14 years -receiving its participants through the local authority multi-agency referral groups.

“Between them the referred young people had committed at least 104 offences, and the majority had been referred for behaviour problems at home, at school or in the community; for some, their offending appeared to be well established.

‘Plusone was found to have generated social value of over £1.05million for an investment of just under £108,000.”

“The social return from Plusone’s activities for each £1 of investment ranges between £6 and £13, with the most likely return being just under £10.”

Wendy Harrington led our work on this and she summed it up:

“ADSW’s interest in this work is wider than developing a successful youth justice approach, although that, in itself, is no small achievement. However, we are also interested in how to capitalize on the skill and will of communities to assist those who live amongst them and who need their support. We are interested in what kind of working relationships we need to create across the sectors so that we produce a better outcome for individuals and communities. Quite simply, right across the agencies, we need to trust each other as professionals and share our expertise, join up our processes and accept our individual limitations. ADSW is currently ‘unpicking’ the elements of this successful work and considering their application across different service groups, including with older people. Its very exciting…”

So there you have it, as I am always saying, Scotland has so much to commend to the UK and last week it seems people were starting to listen. I hope we can continue to share our ideas and as I mentioned in my July blog, I have blagged my way into two UK events this autumn. The Guardian Public Service Summit to be held in Edinburgh on 22^nd September and before that the Inside Government event Adult Social Care Forum:  Delivering Quality Standards of Care where I shall speak alongside ADASS President Peter Hay in London on 13^th. I will report these events in a future posting.