Islington News: Martin Dinnegan | Young Offenders Team | Job Cuts | Restructure

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Islington Tribune - by TOM FOOT
Published: 29 August 2008

Martin Dinnegan

Team that failed Dinnegan boy faces job cuts

ISLINGTON’S Young Offenders Team – criticised a fortnight ago after an Old Bailey judge revealed it had failed in its duty to monitor the killer of Martin Dinnegan – was dealt another blow this week after the council confirmed a “substantial reduction in funding” to youth services.
Two staff working with the families of young offenders will be axed as part of a major “restructuring” of the council’s youth services.
The council says the cuts to the Safer Islington Partnership (SIP) – which also include five “back room” staff working to reduce crime in Islington – have been forced by a decrease in central government funding.
But Labour councillor Phil Kelly, who sat on the council’s investigation last November into Martin Dinnegan’s death, said that was “nonsense”.
He said: “There is more money coming for youth funding from the government than ever before.”
Labour leader Councillor Catherine West called for the jobs to be reinstated, adding: “Islington is crying out for more action to cut violent crime. It’s even worse that some of the jobs facing the axe are the very ones that are supposed to be preventing kids from getting into a life of crime.”
The cuts follow calls from Labour councillors, made in the Tribune a fortnight ago, for an urgent “root and branch” inquiry into Islington’s Youth Offending Service following the conviction of Joseph Chin for the murder of Martin Dinnegan.
Chin, 16, was serving a 12-month supervision order when he stabbed Martin, 14, to death in June 2007.
He was meeting face-to-face with Islington’s Youth Offenders Team on a daily basis, 25 hours a week – but in the build-up to the killing, Chin’s monitoring was “lowered” to just one day a week.
His curfew restrictions were cancelled and his electronic tag was removed.
Councillor Terry Stacy said: “Government cuts in funding to the Safer Islington Partnership means that reductions have to be made to a number of projects.
“The SIP have tried to ensure that these do not affect front line services, so redundancies will be centred on back office staff.
“Clearly the SIP would rather not lose these posts, but the savings they will provide of over £277,000 [per annum] are significant.
“These savings were carefully considered and we think they can be accommodated without having a negative impact on community safety services.
“At the same time, the council, police and the SIP have ensured that there will not be any reduction of police officers on the streets.
“Work with key groups and those at risk will also be unaffected.”

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