Naomi Long

Justice Minister Naomi Long said the combined campus would help to reduce offending and support community safety.

The launch of the consultation follows the review of regional facilities for children and young people which was published in December 2018, as well as the Department of Justice’s 2016 scoping study into children in the justice system.

Health Minister Robin Swann said: “I fully recognise that the establishment of a care and justice campus represents a significant change in how we provide services for a small, but often vulnerable group of children and young people, many of whom have very complex needs.

“An important aim of the proposals being consulted on is to try and prevent young people being admitted to the campus in the first place. This will require us to provide them with effective supports in the community, which are therapeutic and made available on an inter-agency, co-ordinated basis.

“Some children and young people will continue to need to spend time in secure care. When they do, we need to ensure that the services provided to them are high quality, therapeutically focussed and deliver the best possible outcomes for them – making it possible for them to return to the community within the shortest time possible.”

He added: “There is growing evidence of the lasting impact that childhood trauma can have on our own life chances and those of our children and grandchildren. Many of the children and young people who have spent time in secure accommodation and in the juvenile justice centre have experienced childhood trauma.

“I have a particular concern about the disproportionate number of looked after children who find themselves in the juvenile justice centre. I want to see that trend reversed and I am confident that the new campus will make that possible.”

Ms Long said: “The proposals for a new care and justice campus represent a true partnership project between justice, health and social care, education and other sectors. We all have a desire, if not an obligation, to provide the right support to the relatively small number of children and young people who are admitted to either secure care, the juvenile justice centre and, in many cases, both every year.

“This means supporting them in a way that best meets their needs and, where appropriate, addresses the underlying causes of their offending behaviours. Those needs are rarely met by a single agency. The Ccampus will create a framework within which agencies can work better together and wrap their services around children and young people, rather than operating independently and moving them from service to service, which is currently often the case.”

She added: “The campus also presents the opportunity to provide earlier help and support to these children and young people, again on an inter-agency basis, and keep them out of a secure environment completely. This is completely in keeping with the wider aims of my department, including our reducing offending and community safety aims.”

Ms Long concluded: “There has been a gradual reduction of the numbers of children and young people being admitted to custody over the years. The campus will be key to enabling us to bring those numbers down further in ways that deliver better outcomes for children and young people and also for victims and communities.

“This is an exciting opportunity and a good demonstration of co-operation that goes well beyond the departments of health and justice. It draws in the departments of education, the economy, and communities too. The consultation is also an opportunity for the public and key stakeholders to have their say and to help us shape the campus.”