Youth Offending

Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme

Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme is the most rigorous non-custodial intervention available for young offenders.

As its name suggests, it combines unprecedented levels of community-based surveillance with a comprehensive and sustained focus on tackling the factors that contribute to the young person's offending behaviour.

Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme targets the most active repeat young offenders, and those who commit the most serious crimes.

The programme aims to:

Reduce the frequency and seriousness of offending in the target groups
Tackle the underlying needs of offenders which give rise to offending, with a particular emphasis on education and training
Provide reassurance to communities through close surveillance backed up by rigorous enforcement

Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme operates across all of England and Wales. There are 81 Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme schemes and the intervention is available in all 157 youth offending teams.

Since the programme started in July 2001, up to the end of March 2006, 19,037 persistent young offenders have been referred to an Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme. During 2005-2006 alone, there were 5,564 young people starting the Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme.

Responsibility for delivering Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme rests with a dedicated team that works closely with your local youth offending team, or with a partnership of youth offending teams in some instances.

Most young people will spend 6 months on Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme. The most intensive supervision (25 hours a week) lasts for the first 3 months of the programme.

Following this, the supervision continues at a reduced intensity (a minimum of 5 hours a week, and weekend support) for a further 3 months.

On completion of Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme the young person will continue to be supervised for the remaining period of their order.

Routes onto Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme

There is no such thing as an 'Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme order'. Existing statutory powers are used to admit a young person onto an Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme scheme.

There are 3 routes onto Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme (with slight variations between them).

1. As a condition of bail supervision and support

The programme is limited to the time that a young offender is on bail, although an offender who starts Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme whilst on bail may be able to continue the programme once sentenced.

Although the offending behaviour and restorative justice elements of Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme are not appropriate before a guilty verdict has been established, the young person still receives a minimum of 25 hours supervision and additional surveillance. Schemes are also able to deploy electronic tagging on bail under Section 131 and 132 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001.

2. As part of a community penalty (either a Supervision Order or a Community Rehabilitation Order)

All of the Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme schemes use electronic tagging or voice verification under the powers in the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000, to enforce the requirements of the community penalty.

3. As a condition of community supervision in the second half of a Detention and Training Order

Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme covers the community element of the Detention and Training Order, with assessment of suitability jointly undertaken by the secure establishment and the youth offending team.

Who is Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme for?

The Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme is targeted at 2 main groups of young offenders:

The small group of prolific young offenders (aged 10-17) who, Home Office research suggests, commit approximately a quarter of all offences committed by young people
Those young people who are not prolific offenders, but who commit crimes of a very serious nature and who would benefit from early and intensive intervention

Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme is based on the best evidence as to what will reduce the frequency and seriousness of offending. It promises to bring structure to offenders' lifestyles, while systematically addressing the key risk factors contributing to their offending behaviour, such as educational deficits, weaknesses in thinking skills or drug misuse.

For serious offenders who do not meet the definition of persistence, it plans to address their behaviour before they become habitual and persistent offenders.

Who is eligible?

Young offenders are eligible for Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme if they are appearing in court charged with or convicted of an offence, and have previously been charged, warned or convicted of offences committed on 4 or more separate dates within the last 12 months, and received at least 1 community or custodial penalty.

In addition, young offenders can also qualify for Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme if they are at risk of custody because:

The current charge or sentence relates to an offence which is sufficiently serious that an adult could be sentenced to 10 years or more, or
They have a history of repeat offending on bail and are at risk of a secure remand under section 130 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001

In August 2005 the eligibility criteria was amended to include 2 key changes.

New short cut

Any young person, who has previously received a Detention and Training Order and - within a year of leaving custody - faces custody again, is now eligible for Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme.

Serious crime shortcut additions

Any young person initially charged with Section 18 (Grievous Bodily Harm), who subsequently has the charged reduced to a Section 20, can now be considered for Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme, as can any young person charged with aggravated taking and driving away.

However, not all the young offenders meeting these criteria will be suitable for such an intensive programme. Generally, youth offending teams will only advise courts to consider the option in the context of a pre-sentence report where:

The young offender fits the criteria for Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme
They are not considered to pose an unacceptable risk to the community if placed on Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme
The current offence before the court is of sufficient gravity for the court to be considering a custodial sentence or remand
There is a place available

Youth offending teams will assess suitability, check there is the capacity to offer Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme, and make a recommendation to the court. It is then for the courts to sentence (or make remand decisions) as they see fit.

Supervision

The supervision element of the programme has the following features:

Rigorous assessment of the offender's background, behaviour and needs
A minimum of 25 hours' carefully programmed contact time each week, for 3 months, with support during evenings and weekends
Core elements covering:
- Education and training (especially basic literacy and numeracy)
- Interventions to tackle offending behaviour
- Reparation to victims and/or the community
- Assistance in developing interpersonal skills
- Family support
Flexibility to access support for individual problems, for example, homelessness, drug misuse or mental health problems