Support given to young offenders in Waltham Forest has been praised after an inspection from the HM Inspectorate of Probation.

The council’s youth offending service (YOS) was assessed in March this year with a team of inspectors combing through the cases dealt with by the authority.

The YOS, which currently works with 169 young offenders, is part of an ‘Early Help’ division run by the council to try to help youths find a crime-free future.

Staff were praised during the findings, with inspectors stating staff worked hard with each individual to try and understand why they committed crime.

Lead Inspector Mark Boother wrote in his report: “We found that the YOS was well managed.

“Staff understand the need to protect the public from the risk of serious harm from children and young people and works hard to minimise these risks.

“We saw that the YOS worked very closely with the police to share intelligence and manage the risk of future offending.

“There was strong evidence that case managers listened to children and young people and their parents/carers where appropriate.”

Areas in need of improvement were also identified in the report.

The effectiveness of communication between the courts and the YOS was highlighted by the Inspectorate for improvement.

During the visit it was also established the reoffending rate for Waltham Forest stands at 41.1 per cent, an improvement on the previous year by 4.9 per cent.

The London average is 41.4 per cent.

Cllr Liaquat Ali MBE JP, the council’s cabinet member for community safety and sohesion, said: “We know there is still a lot of work to be done to try and bring down reoffending rates further but given the challenges we face in Waltham Forest, this report shows we are well on track.

“Our YOS does not always get the public pat on the back it deserves but it plays a crucial role protecting the public and preventing future offending.

“Knowing we are successfully supporting young offenders and effectively managing the risk of harm they present gives us a solid platform from which to target continued improvements.”

Cllr Mark Rusling, the council’s cabinet member for children and young people, said: “Staff in the YOS do a fantastic job safeguarding vulnerable children and young people and supporting young offenders as they try to get their lives back on track.”