A PIONEERING drive to clamp down on youth crime in Blackburn and Darwen is to come under the microscope.

Officials from the National Youth Justice Board are visiting the borough to take a closer look at the project.

The youth offending team was launched last November by the town's MP and Home Secretary Jack Straw.

New measures have been tried out in Blackburn and Darwen, and if successful they will be implemented across the country.

Measures introduced include:

Speeding up cases through the court to prevent a backlog of paperwork.

Confronting young people with the consequences of their actions.

Encouraging magistrates to impose penalties which match the seriousness of offences.

Reinforcing the responsibility of parents for their children's behaviour.

Helping young offenders to tackle their problems with the aim of stopping them commit further crimes.

The old practice of repeated cautions for young offenders has also been replaced by a final warning system. More than 100 final warnings have been issued to youngsters in the borough over the last six months.

Organisations like the police, probation service and the council have also forged closer links since the start of the initiative.

Malcolm Doherty, leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council, said: "We have had a very encouraging start to our Youth Offending Team which we have been pioneering since November.

"It is also a priority of Blackburn with Darwen Council and we are proud to be working with our partners to help cut crime and help young offenders deal with their problems.

"As a pilot team, we know that other authorities will be looking at our example and learning from our from our work in this field.

"We are confident we will set the standard for the rest of the country with a successful youth offending team."

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