Problems in Youth Justice Teams Identified in "Misspent Youth" (1996)

• Prosecution through the courts was slow
• Not enough was done to address offending behaviour
• The agencies involved often worked in an unco-ordinated way
• Little was done to prevent young people from offending in the first place
• Monitoring of re-offending after different sentences or disposals was rare

The Structure and Agencies of the New Youth Justice Services

Responsibilities of the Youth Justice Board for Youth Justice Agencies

Youth Justice Board Aims

To prevent offending by children and young people through:

• Swift administration of justice so that every young person accused of breaking the law has the matter resolved without delay
• Confronting offenders with consequences of their offending
• Intervention which tackles the particular factors which put a young person at risk of offending
• Punishment proportionate to the seriousness and persistence of offending
• Encouraging reparation to victims by young offenders
• Reinforcing responsibilities of parents

Youth Offending Service Work

• Appropriate adult (police station)
• Preventative (final warnings)
• Court duty service
• Reports to court
• Supervise orders of the court
• Delivery of programmes
• Restorative justice (victims)
• Parenting support

Who We Work With

• Five partner agencies
• The courts
• Crime reduction partnerships
• Youth Service
• Connexions
• Voluntary organisations
• Drugs services

Staffing

• Seconded from parent agencies
• Staff employed to deliver Youth Justice Board projects
• Core staff (managers, administrators)

Multi-agency Teams

Staff are seconded from their 'host Agencies' and have succeeded in retaining their host identities whilst developing their joint work into one of the most effective YOT teams in the country.

Youth Offending Team Services to the Youth Court

• Provide a duty officer for all youth courts and where children are appearing in other courts
• Provide written and oral reports
• Advise courts of the suitability of remand foster carers, bail addresses and bail support
• Assist with youth court magistrates’ training
• Participate in court user groups
• Signed up to speeding up youth justice processes
• Attend youth court panel meetings
• Provide 'Appropriate Adult' services