The Alliance of Sport in Criminal Justice was delighted to see its Levelling the Playing Field project highilighted in the Youth Justice Board's 2020-21 business plan.

James Mapstone, Chief Executive said: “We are proud of our partnership with the Youth Justice Board and together we are committed to tackling the over-representation of black, Asian and minority ethnic children in the Criminal Justice System.”

The document, which is available online, outlines the organisation’s plan for the next 12 months, with the Youth Justice Board intending to focus on five key ideologies:

• Strengthen and enhance delivery of statutory functions
• To see a youth justice system that sees children as children first and offenders second
• To see an improvement in the standards of custody for children and promote further rollout of constructive resettlements
• To influence the youth justice system to treat children fairly and reduce over-representation
• To see a reduction in serious youth violence and child criminal exploitation

The plan aims to support the Alliance of Sport to effectively implement the Levelling the Playing Field project and help “improve health and life chances” for children across England and Wales.

Youth Justice Board Chief Executive Officer Colin Allars said: “The Business Plan 2020-21 is a bold and ambitious plan, and we remain inspired and motivated to deliver an aspirational plan that will respond to the needs of children in the youth justice system.

“We want to continue our focus on both helping children keep out of the justice system, and helping those who get stuck within it.

“We have proposed a programme of work we want to deliver, focusing on how we can work more effectively with our partners to deliver change, and help children turn away from crime.”