Keith Fraser, Chair of the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales, is somebody I am keen to meet as, despite his Wikipedia page revealing little, I’m familiar with his reputation and description by the country’s media as a ‘top cop’. From the outset of my conversation with him, I can see why he was successful in the Police Service – he is warm and unhostile, possessing a visible aura of equanimity.
After exchanging greetings, he and I get straight down to business. I’d like to begin by finding out some specifics of his career, I say, and he willingly obliges. He started his lengthy policing career in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, a deprived area with a high crime rate. ‘It was what I always wanted to do,’ he tells me, ‘So I applied to the Metropolitan Police and went from there.’ He held a multitude of responsibilities in The Met, I learn, including neighbourhood policing and criminal investigation roles. ‘I finished at New Scotland Yard, where I created the Cultural and Communities Resource Unit, which utilises the diverse life skills of officers for a whole range of policing activities.’ I am particularly interested to learn that he worked in Havering Borough, where I trained as a police cadet for two years. ‘I was a CID officer in Havering,’ he tells me enthusiastically.
Keith transferred to West Midlands Police and became an operations superintendent responsible for hundreds of staff and a multi-million-pound budget. He was open-minded when it came to anti-crime education, taking on the role of Strategic Lead for the Prince’s Trust. Through this role, he provided aspiration to young people, some of whom had been involved with the criminal justice system. ‘This had fantastic results in turning lives around,’ he tells me. He wrote, in conjunction with others, Wolverhampton’s strategy on preventing gang involvement and youth violence. ‘I retired as a superintendent a couple of years ago,’ he concludes.
I ask him about his current role at the Youth Justice Board, responsible for overseeing the youth justice system. He was appointed by the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor, the Rt. Hon. Robert Buckland QC MP, in April this year, as the successor to Charlie Taylor. ‘The YJB fulfils some statutory functions,’ he informs me, ‘ranging from advising ministers about the youth justice sector to providing youth offending teams across the country with databases.’
The non-departmental public body is known for monitoring the provision of youth justice services, reviewing evidence to establish the optimal outcomes for children who offend, and commissioning research in connection with good practice.
I ask him about the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, amended by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. He is, of course, familiar with the Act, and is prepared to share his criticisms of it with me. ‘The Act is complex and hard to understand,’ he states. ‘The number of unnecessary checks being performed, as well as the length of time an offence stays on a person’s record, is totally disproportionate.’ He believes that more advice should be given to employers for when they consider applicants with criminal records, echoing calls made by British businessman Sir John Timpson. ‘Over eleven million people in the UK have a criminal record,’ he observes. ‘That’s a significant part of society that cannot simply be written off.’
He recalls a ‘truly poignant’ event, one that occurred during his 32-year police career, confirming his belief in the presence of, in most cases, a potential for change. ‘I was running this sporting project in the West Midlands,’ he says, ‘and I had my photograph taken with a black teenager, who put his arm around me while I was wearing full uniform.’ He explains the significance of this to me. ‘Nine months ago, I was told, I would have been chasing this person, who had been involved in an awful lot of crime.’ A drastic change in circumstances had clearly occurred in this instance. ‘I frequently look at that photograph, which reminds me that people really can change.’
The Government has pledged to improve the criminal justice system, including making commitments to recruit an additional 20,000 police officers at an estimated cost of £1.1 billion per year. However, their commitments currently appear, to some, to be empty promises. ‘My early feelings are positive,’ he says. ‘I have met with Justice Minister Lucy Frazer QC MP and the Lord Chancellor on a number of occasions, and they seem to be listening and taking a key interest.’
Elliot Tyler 