The Police and Crime Commissioner has approved funding of up to £216,366.00 for the the Custody Navigator Programme in 2025-26.
This extension will enable the scheme to continue and for the OPCC to explore co-commissioning opportunities. This will inform PCC future commissioning intentions for youth-focussed interventions.
Funding arrangements have now been extended for a further 12-months from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026.
The Custody Navigators scheme was launched in August 2023 and delivered by the South Tees Justice Service.
The scheme is made up of a team of specialist custody navigators, who work alongside Cleveland Police and health care practitioners in Cleveland Police central custody suite.
Its primary role is to engage with young people, aged 10 to 25, who are either involved in, or at risk of, serious violence.
The scheme operates in a dedicated Youth-Focused Custody Suite, which is the first of its kind in the country.
The bespoke suite, co-designed with young people, separates young people from adult offenders and applies the principles of trauma-informed practice and care.
To date, the scheme has engaged with more than 750 young people aged 10 to 24. It has also supported more than 200 first-time offenders. It has returned a re-offending rate of 6%, which is below the national average.
An independent evaluation of the scheme highlighted that “The Custody Navigator programme represents value for money and appears to have a significant impact on reducing re-offending among 10 to 17 year olds when it is able to provide them with substantial support.”
In addition, the report confirms the scheme is making a “Return on investment of £2.03 for every £1 spent.”
The Custody Navigators Scheme is part of the Cleveland Unit for the Reduction of Violence (CURV.)
CURV was set up to lead and coordinate the local preventative, whole-system approach to violence reduction
As specified by the Home Office, the primary measures of success for VRUs are to deliver:
- A reduction in hospital admissions for assaults with a knife or sharp object and especially among victims aged under 25;
- A reduction in knife-enabled serious violence and especially among victims aged under 25;
- A reduction on all non-domestic homicides and especially among victims aged under 25 involving knives.
Continued funding was agreed because of the factors, above. The scheme is also strategically aligned with Cleveland Police and Crime Plan priorities.
The Custody Navigators’ Scheme references the following two objectives:
- Reduce crime, antisocial behaviour and harm
- Tackle offending and re-offending
Decision 2024-25: Custody Navigator funding (application, 199kB)