	Youth Offending Team Torbay Council 1st Floor Commerce House 97 - 101 Abbey Road Torquay TQ2 5PJ
	csenquiries @torbay.gov.uk
	01803 201655

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Intensive Supervision & Surveillance Programmes (ISSP)

ISSP

ISSP 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. ISSP 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.

Most young people will spend six months on ISSP. The most intensive supervision (25 hours a week) lasts for the first three months of the programme. Following this, the supervision continues at a reduced intensity (a minimum of five hours a week, and weekend support) for a further three months. On completion of ISSP the young person will continue to be supervised for the remaining period of their order.

Routes onto ISSP

There is no such thing as an 'ISSP order'. Existing statutory powers are used to admit a young person onto an ISSP scheme.

There are three routes onto ISSP (with slight variations between them):

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 ISSP whilst on bail may be able to continue the programme once sentenced. Although the offending behaviour and restorative justice elements of ISSP 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 now able to deploy electronic tagging on bail under Section 131 and 132 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001.
As part of a community penalty (either a Supervision Order or a Community Rehabilitation Order - Please see Related Page panel) - All of the ISSP schemes are piloting the use of tagging or voice verification under the new powers in the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000, to enforce the requirements of the community penalty.
As a condition of community supervision in the second half of a (Detention and Training Order) - ISSP covers the community element of the DTO, with assessment of suitability jointly undertaken by the secure establishment and the Youth Offending Team.
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Who is ISSP designed for?

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

The small group of prolific young offenders (aged 10 to 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.

ISSP 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 ISSP if they are appearing in court charged with or are convicted of an offence, and have previously been charged, warned or convicted of offences committed on four or more separate dates within the last 12 months, and received at least one community or custodial penalty.

In addition, young offenders can also qualify for ISSP 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 14 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.

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 (PSR) where:

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

Youth Offending Teams will assess suitability, check there is the capacity to offer ISSP, 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 three 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)
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Surveillance

A key element of the programme is community surveillance, which ensures that the offenders themselves are aware their behaviour is being closely monitored, and brings some structure to their often chaotic lifestyles.

The surveillance element also helps demonstrate to the wider community that the behaviour of these young people is being tackled.

Types of surveillance:

ISSP schemes will tailor individual packages of surveillance to the risks posed by each offender. Each scheme is using a mix of the following types of surveillance:

Tracking – Staff maintain regular contact with the young offender throughout the week, accompanying them to scheduled activities and appointments. Staff also provide support and advice, and follow up any non-attendance.
Tagging – The young offender is electronically monitored (for example to reinforce a night-time curfew if that is when they are most at risk of reoffending).
Voice verification – The voice print of the young offender is checked over the telephone at times specified in a contact schedule, to confirm that the young person is where he/she is supposed to be.
Intelligence-led policing – The police can provide overt monitoring of the movements of these young offenders at key times to reinforce the programme, as well as share information with the ISSP staff in the Youth Offending Team.

The minimum requirement is for two surveillance checks per day, but this can be increased to 24-hour monitoring.

Enforcement

Strict enforcement is key to making ISSP work and providing reassurance to the community. ISSP has been designed to ensure strict compliance. Once the young person is on the scheme, non-compliance will be dealt with according to the Youth Justice Board's National Standards. Fast track arrangements for ISSP schemes and their local youth court will be encouraged to ensure breaches are dealt with quickly.

Given that this is a difficult group of offenders and the programme will make strenuous demands of them, there will be failures. However, in considering breach proceedings, if the court feels that the structured approach of ISSP represents the most constructive option for engaging with the offender, it may feel it appropriate to allow them to continue on the programme.