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Tuesday 22 Jan

Former Metropolitan Police Superintendent Leroy Logan MBE takes over as chair of T2A young adults campaign

Leroy Logan MBE, anti-racist campaigner, former Met superintendent, and a founding member of the Black Police Association, has been appointed as Chair of Transition to Adulthood (T2A).

Transition to Adulthood (T2A) is a Barrow Cadbury Trust programme advocating for a criminal justice system that takes a distinct approach to policy and practice for young adults (18-25 year olds). The criminal justice system regards all people over 18 year olds as adults.  T2A argues it’s not as simple as this.  Our research, as well as evidence from academic institutions and from government bodies, along with the insights from criminal justice practitioners, shows that between 18 and 25 the brain is still developing.  This can show itself as irresponsible and unpredictable behaviour which may lead to criminal justice interventions.  T2A is working with sentencers, criminal justice practitioners, and policy makers to make sure this evidence is taken into account when services are designed and decisions made impact on young adult in the justice system

The prison population is made up of a disproportionate number of young adults.  At the last census they made up 9.4% of the general population but 16% of the prison population, 23% of those on the most basic regime, as well as young adults making up over 30% of police cases.

On taking up the role Leroy Logan said:

“The causes of crime have always been overlooked by a ‘tough on crime’ approach. I believe my new role with T2A is a way of highlighting the challenges young adults face that may lead them to offend or repeat offend. All of these factors along with an individual’s maturity should be taken into consideration when the courts sentence an individual. I look forward to working with everyone on the T2A team and the T2A partner organisations”.

Welcoming him as Chair of the campaign, Sara Llewellin, CEO of Barrow Cadbury Trust said:

“When Leroy Logan said he would take up the role of chair we were absolutely delighted to have someone so committed to reforming the criminal justice system and challenging inequality, particularly racism.  His 30 years’ experience in the Met Police advancing policing (recognised by an MBE in 2000), and his work on the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry will help to drive the T2A campaign to the next level, increasing traction and profile.  We are very much looking forward to working with Leroy and his team to accelerate change for young adults in the CJS”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An innovative three-year T2A national programme to deliver interventions to young adults involved with the criminal justice system was launched today in six locations.

 

The ‘T2A Pathway’ will be delivered by partnerships between the voluntary and statutory sectors, as part of the work of the Transition to Adulthood Alliance (T2A). The projects will work with 16-25 year olds at different stages of the criminal justice system.  Young adults are vastly over-represented in the criminal justice system. While 18-24 year olds account for around 10% of the general population, they represent around a third of the probation service’s caseload, and a third of those sent to prison each year.

 

Alongside the delivery of the T2A Pathway, Barrow Cadbury Trust has commissioned an independent four-year formative, summative and economic evaluation, which began in late 2013. The evaluations will measure the social and economic impact and effectiveness of each project. The evaluation team, led by Professor Paul Senior and Kevin Wong at the Hallam Centre for Community Justice within Sheffield Hallam University, will also support delivery organisations with establishing baseline data, data collection systems, and data analysis.

 

The T2A Pathway projects include provision of mental health support, restorative justice, drug and alcohol treatment, family engagement and help with finding employment.  The new T2A Pathway projects include partnerships with the police in London and Rotherham, with courts and probation in Liverpool and Sheffield, and with five prisons in the West Midlands. The projects are all co-funded by Barrow Cadbury Trust, along with a range of statutory partners, from Police and Crime Commissioners to prisons and local authorities.

 

The projects will develop further the work of three T2A (Transition to Adulthood) pilots, which worked with more than 2,000 young adults between 2009 and 2013 in London, Birmingham and Worcestershire.  The pilots showed that treating young adults as a distinct group reduced offending and increased employment.  The projects will be the centrepiece of the delivery work of the T2A Alliance, a coalition of 13 leading charities, which works to evidence the importance of a distinct approach for young adults either at risk of entering the criminal justice system or already involved in it.

 

Announcing the new T2A Pathway, Joyce Moseley OBE, Chair of the T2A Alliance said:

 

“Young people on the cusp of adulthood often have a range of challenges to overcome, and those in trouble with the law have often lost contact with family, education or employment, which are vital for turning away from a life of crime. We’ve known for some time that young adults in the criminal justice system benefit hugely from a distinct approach that takes account of their variable maturity and addresses their particular needs.

 

T2A’s research has shown how services can work effectively with young adults throughout the criminal justice process and link them back to a crime-free life, benefitting them and their communities.  The T2A Pathway will provide young adults across the country with the opportunity to make amends and address their offending, and guide them into a stable and productive adulthood.”

 

 

The T2A Alliance

 

i)             The T2A Alliance is funded by the Barrow Cadbury Trust and was established in 2008. In 2012 T2A published the ‘Pathways from Crime’, which created the concept of the ‘T2A Pathway’, a 10-stage framework that describes how services can work effectively with young adults throughout the criminal justice process, from point of arrest to release from prison.

 

ii)          Over a half of young adults in custody go on to reoffend within one year of release and up to two-thirds reoffend within two years.

 

iii)            The T2A Alliance’s members are:  Addaction, Black Training and Enterprise Group (BTEG), Catch22, the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies (CCJS), Clinks, the Criminal Justice Alliance (CJA), the Howard League for Penal Reform, Nacro, the Prince’s Trust, the Prison Reform Trust (PRT), Revolving Doors Agency, the Young Foundation, and Young Minds.

 

Find out more about the six T2A Pathway programmes on the T2A Pathway page: http://www.t2a.org.uk/pathway/)