The Secretary of State has reappointed Susannah Hancock, Jacob Sakil, and Louise Shorter as members of the Youth Justice Board (YJB) for 3 years from 1 December 2023 until 30 November 2026.
Susannah Hancock is the Chief Operating Officer for the National Fire Chiefs Council. She was previously Chief Executive of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners. Before that she was Assistant Chief Executive of Victim Support and Chief Executive of the Office of the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner in Essex. Between 2004-2008, she served as Head of London for the YJB.
Jacob Sakil: Since 2017, Jacob has been a passionate advocate for youth social action and community engagement. He is the founder of American Bites start-up, Youth Justice Service representative and sits on the Business in the Community's (BITC) Place Taskforce supporting the collaborative potential of business to strengthen communities around the UK.
Louise Shorter is founder and investigator of Inside Justice; a registered charity which investigates alleged miscarriages of justice on behalf of prisoners who maintain their innocence. She is also a Board member of Inside Time; a not-for-profit newspaper for prisoners and an Associate Tutor at the School of Law, University of East Anglia.
All 3 have not declared any political activity.
The YJB is a non-departmental public body, responsible for overseeing the youth justice system in England and Wales. Its primary function is to monitor the operation of the youth justice system and the provision of youth justice services.
Reappointments to the YJB are made by the Secretary of State for Justice and are regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. These reappointments comply with the Cabinet Office Governance Code on Public Appointments.
