Youth Inclusion Programmes

Youth Inclusion Programmes (YIPs) are schemes which have been designed to reduce youth crime in some of the UK's most deprived neighbourhoods.

They are different to ordinary youth crime programmes because they specifically target teenagers who are deemed most likely to become offenders or truants.

The scheme works by offering targeted assistance and support to the 50 youngsters most likely to become involved in crime, truancy or exclusion - known as the "core 50".

These children are then invited to join YIP schemes, where they will be 'engaged' and given support and help. Participation in the projects is voluntary.

Truant

They are identified using a consultation process with several government agencies including the police, social services, local education authorities and schools, who decide which 13 to 16 year olds are most at risk.

The teenagers are then effectively targeted, or engaged, by the people running the programmes in a bid to stop them committing crimes or playing truant.

The idea is that at least three quarters of the people who are chosen to take part in YIP schemes are given things to do to keep them off the streets.

This 'intervention' can come in a variety of guises, from providing support to parents, language support for ethnic minority students, music groups, holiday clubs, environmental clean-up projects, participation in sports and even drama workshops.

Funding

Most schemes have a target of reducing arrest rates among the group by around 60% within a year. Other targets include reducing crime in the neighbourhood by 30% or achieving at least at 33% reduction in truancy and exclusions on the young people concerned.

Each programme receives an annual grant from the Youth Justice Board and is required to find at least an equal amount in matched funding from local agencies.

The first YIP scheme was set up in 2000 by the Youth Justice Board. There are currently 70 such programmes in operation in England and Wales on some of the most deprived estates in the UK.