LAW agencies in Sussex are the second slowest in England and Wales at bringing young criminals to justice.

Figures just released showed the average time it took last year to bring persistent young offenders from arrest to sentence in Sussex was 144 days.

It is the second year running Sussex has fared badly in Government league tables for handling young offenders.

The figures come almost a year after Home Secretary Jack Straw blasted the police, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the probation service in the county for "unacceptable delays".

He said they had to "raise their game" after it emerged it took an average of 163 days from arrest to sentence in 1998, blaming poor administration and co-operation.

Committed

The Government wants to cut the time it takes to bring persistent young criminals to justice to 71 days by 2001.

In a joint statement responding to the figures, Sussex Police, the CPS, the court service and the probation service said new guidelines were introduced in Sussex too late in 1999 to show up in the figures.

The guidelines mean persistent young offenders now go to court within a few days of arrest, rather than weeks.

The agencies stated: "The county's criminal justice agencies are conscious of the need to improve and are committed to working together to enhance our position."

West Sussex county councillor Dr James Walsh, who sits on the Sussex Police Authority, said: "I think it is unacceptably long. We should be talking about weeks rather than months."

Brighton Kemp Town MP Des Turner said: "It is up to the local agencies to move heaven and earth to bring the figures right down."

Only Hertfordshire, with an average of 145 days, had a worse record than Sussex.

The nationwide average time was 108 days.

A persistent young offender is a person aged between ten and 17 who has been sentenced at least three times and is arrested within three years of the last offence.

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