The report looks at what effective youth work looks like for children and young people and the role of youth services in England in helping to tackle knife crime and serious youth violence. It looked at ways that youth services are already successfully addressing youth crime, with a strong focus on offering support as soon as a violent incident has occurred.
This includes the charity Redthread’s youth violence intervention programme (YVIP), which embeds youth workers in hospital A&E departments across London and the Midlands.
Recommendations to government include: conducting a national audit to establish the extent of youth services and their capacity to deliver services particularly in deprived communities; funding local authorities to invest in sustainable long-term youth work; and introduce a statutory requirement to local authorities for a minimum level of professional youth services provision.