HOME Secretary Jack Straw has praised Blackburn and Burnley magistrates' courts after they were selected to speed up youth justice.

The cabinet minister and Blackburn MP last night attacked North West magistrates for not doing enough to speed up the way juvenile crime is dealt with.

But he said he was "delighted" that the two courts had been picked to pilot new youth measures aimed at reducing paperwork and bureaucracy to speed up the treatment of juvenile delinquents.

He said he hoped the scheme would lead the way for the rest of the region. He also congratulated Blackburn as a test bed for the new final warning scheme and youth offending teams.

Final warnings would replace the current system of repeated cautions with a first caution followed by a second final warning and then a court appearance for a third offence.

Youth offending teams will bring together police, courts, probation services, social services, schools and other agencies to try and nip criminal behaviour in the bud.

In a speech to the North West Magistrates Association in Blackburn, Mr Straw said the Narey pilot schemes would be "crucial to delivering our commitment to reduce delays and halve the time it takes to get persistent young offenders from arrest to sentencing." He said: "You do not need me to tell you that magistrates will be crucial if we are to deliver this key pledge.

"I hope that magistrates in Blackburn and Burnley will relish the opportunity to help shape our plans for national implementation and will take up the challenge with enthusiasm."

Mr Straw ran through the measures in his new Crime and Disorder Bill currently completing its Commons stages in Westminster and took questions from JPs about it.

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