Rise in youth offending

Have Scottish Executive ministers created a rod for their collective back with the high-profile campaign against persistent youth offending? The figures suggest they might have. Ministers set a target to reduce the number of persistent young offenders (PYOs) by 10% by March 2006 and by a further 10% by the same month next year. Since the target was set, the number has increased, not fallen. Figures published yesterday show there were 1388 young people classed as PYOs in 2005-6 compared with the 2003-4 baseline figure of 1201; this despite a near 20-fold increase in funding for youth justice services in the past six years.