Youth offending team

In England and Wales a Youth Offending Team is a multi-agency team that is coordinated by a local authority, which is overseen by the Youth Justice Board It deals with young offenders, sets up community services and reparation plans, and attempts to prevent youth recidivism and incarceration.

Logo of the Youth Offending Team outside a Somerset YOT Office.

A Youth Offending Team (YOT) is a statutory, multi-agency team that was set up following the 1998 Crime and Disorder Act with the intention of reducing the risk of young people offending and re-offending, and to provide council and rehabilitation to those who do offend. Youth Offending Teams engage in a wide variety of work with young offenders (those under 18) in order to achieve their aims. YOT's supervise young people who have been ordered by the court to serve sentences in the community. Particularly, teams organise meetings between offenders and victims to encourage apologies and reparation.

They also arrange for adult volunteers (Appropriate Adults) to accompany under 18's after their arrest in order to ensure that the offender receives everything they are entitled to, as well as to explain to them their legal position, their rights, and their options. When a youth is arrested and unaccompanied by an adult (relation or friend who is over 18), the station often calls the local YOT to request an appropriate adult to come to the relevant station.

Their Role

Youth Offending Teams engage young offenders in a wide range of tasks designed to put something positive back into the local community through unpaid activities, as well as preventing them from re-offending. YOT's ensure that offenders have a lower chance of re-offending by performing checkups during the rehabilitation process, checking on their accommodation, friends, possibilities of coercion into offending or drug/alcohol use, and so on.

Youth Offending Team's can also provide important information relevant to a young persons case to police officers, social workers or the courts. The YOT is often the first stage in rehabilitation for a young offender before the case is moved on to social services.

All members of Youth Offending Teams have expertise in areas relevant to the care and rehabilitation of young offenders. These include areas such as the Police Service, Probation Service, Social Services, the Health Service, Education, and Psychology.

Education

Education workers are one of the most important in Youth Offending Teams since a vast majority of young people are still in full time education when they offend. These workers liaise with schools and the education department where a young person is experiencing difficulties at school, particularly if there is a risk of exclusion or bullying.

Sometimes it can be useful for the education worker to offer a young person support with some particular aspect of his/her school work: study skills, coursework, or facilitating communication between the young person, the school, and the home. Education workers also arrange for the continuing education of young people who go into custody, particularly if they are still of school age. If possible, the workers ensure that the work done in school and custody are of equal content and quality.

School leavers also work with education workers if they need to acquire skills to apply for jobs, for example CV writing, form filling, interview advice and so on. Some educational workers also encourage young people to express their feelings in writing as a way to vent aggravation or to comprehend their difficult situation.

Psychology

The office of the Somerset YOT, at Street.

Meetings between psychologists and the young person, his or her family, and the victim(s) in any combination or separately, can be arranged with some Youth Offending Teams who have psychologists on staff. These meetings base themselves on the idea that a young persons behaviour and offending is linked to other problems in his life.

The meetings are informal and typically last an hour but can vary in length depending on the preference of the young person and psychologist. While these meetings are primarily for conversation, the psychologist will sometimes employ drawing or other tests to explore problems. Occasionally the psychologist will include other family members if he or she feels it is relevant. Sessions with the YOT psychologist normally occur every two to three weeks.

Reports made by the psychologist on the young person are included in that persons file, along with any other relevant information pertinent to his or her case.

The Process

Possible sentences from a Youth Court

These include Financial Penalties of up to a maximum of £1000, conditional discharges lasting from 3 months to 3 years, with the young person being discharged on the condition that they do not commit any further offences within the specified period. If they re-offend they are re-sentenced for the offences for which the discharge was imposed as well as the additional matters.

Curfew Orders can also be enforced, with amaximum of three months for under 16 year olds, six months for those older. Restriction of liberty is enforced at the courts discretion. These orders are to combat night time offending, requiring the young person to be in the confines of their home between 6:00pm and 6:00am, these orders can stand alone or be added alongside a community penalty.

Community Rehabilitation Orders which can last up to three years, these orders also restrict the liberties of the young person, with weekly contact for the first three months, fortnightly for the next three, and monthly thereafter. This order is only for those over 16 years of age. Finally, Community Punishment Orders,which require between 40 and 240 hours of community service, on a minimum of 5 hours a week, the order must be completed in 12 months after it has been issued. Note, this order and the rehabilitation order above can be combined as one.

When an offender commits an offence, and it is his or her first, the court will issue a referral order. This order is designed to prevent further offending by that young person. The referral order refers the young offender to a Youth Offending Team and places the young person in their care for as long as the court deems necessary. The Youth Offending Team will set up a Panel Meeting with the young person.

Panel meetings decide what course or action should be followed depending on the young persons situation in order to prevent further offending, work on reparation to the victim or victims, and giving the victims themselves a chance to speak about their feelings and how they have been affected. The latter can occur by audio, video, letter or face to face, and is monitored by YOT team members.

A flowchart of the procedure followed by a Youth Offending Team

At the Panel Meeting, the Youth Offending Team members will listen to the views of the young person regarding the offence as well as the views of witnesses, relatives, and the police. With the Panel, these groups will agree on a contract of programs for the young offender in question. These contracts may include letters of apology to the victims, community service, or programs of advice and support. Prior to the meeting, a member of the Youth Offending Team will arrange a more informal meeting with the young person to learn more about him or her and prepare a report for the Panel in order to aid the process.

Failure to attend these Panel meetings may lead to a reappearance in court. The violation of the contract will also lead to further legal action. Appointments and meetings must be kept. At the end of the program, the referral order is finished and the young person is released from the program. When this happens, the young person will not have a criminal record, and only in the application of certain types of job (such as a teacher) would the young person ever have to mention his or her referral order.

A Reparation Order

Reparation orders can also be given by the court, attached to the referral to the YOT team. A member of the Youth Offending Team, known as a Responsible Officer, is placed in charge of the reparation program, and will give support and advice for the offender.

During several appointments, the young person is expected to perform tasks to account for his or her actions. Reparation orders can last a maximum of three months, aiming to prevent re-offending and rehabilitate. As with other court orders, inappropriate actions (arriving for an appointments under the influence, using abusive language, violence, or non-cooperation) will lead to a written warning. Further infractions will lead to the court being notified. This will lead to it being noted that the young person has breached his reparation order and a court appearance will take place

A Supervision Order

Like other orders attached to a referral, a supervision order is designed to stop young people from re-offending; however it is a much stricter, and longer lasting order than a reparation. A Supervising Officer from the YOT will be attached to the young person’s case and provide support and advice to the young person as he or she completes the referral and supervision order. As with the reparation order, appointments must be kept (once or twice a week for the first three months of the order, and then weeks for the second three months, and fortnightly after that) and the young person must maintain a respectful and cooperative attitude. On special occasions, when the order is at least half complete and the young person has made good progress, the supervision order may end early, although this is rare.

Like other orders, failure to comply at an acceptable level results in written warnings and then a further court appearance. In this second court appearance, the young person can be ordered to complete the program and issued with a fine, or else cancel the order if the court feels that there is a more appropriate way to deal with the young persons original offence.

A Reprimand

For more serious offences, the police issue a reprimand, not a criminal conviction, but the reprimand is made note of on police computer records. In this case, a reprimand report is issued to the relevant YOT and the details are updated onto the electronic database as before. If the offender has no previous encounters with the police, a new file is created. If the offender has a previous history, the account is merely updated with the new referral from the police. Offenders are assigned to YOT Officers who oversee any community service or reparations. A reprimand is accompanied, like a referral, with certain programs such as a supervision order or reparation order.

A Final Warning

A final warning is a disposal used by the police without an offender having to appear in court. They are issued to offenders aged 10-17 for serious or repeated offences (a three strike system is most commonly used). A record is made with the police which remains in the archive of the Youth Offending Team and the police until the offender is 18, or until 5 years has passed from the administration of the Final Warning, whichever is longer. A Final Warning on a person's record influences the decision of the courts and police if a further offense is committed.

It is the objective of the Youth Offending Teams to prevent offenders from surpassing the Final Warning and strict control is imposed on those who are in danger of re-offending; failure to keep any appointments with their case officers can result in a warrant for that offender's arrest being issued by a court and/or more stricter bail conditions being imposed.

When a Final Warning is given, the offender is asked to return to the police station in 21-28 days time for the warning to be administered. The Youth Offending Team is then contacted via a Final Warning form 143 (or 143a if the final warning was administered before YOT heard about it), which is sent to the YOT for input into the database and a number of actions are taken:

The school of the offender (if there is one) is notified and any relevant information is requested from the school. Victim support is then contacted to liaise with the victim of the offender's crime. The offender is then assigned to a YOT Case Officer who oversees all aspects of the offender's rehabilitation with the Youth Offending Team, including reparations, community service, and so forth. Both Pre-Sentence-Reports and Post-Sentence-Reports on the offender are created to aid with sentencing and profiling.

Final Warnings are only given if the young person accepts that they have committed the offence. If this is not the case, legal advice must be sought from the police or Youth Offending Team in order to combat the court’s decision.

A Glossary of terms for Youth Justice Practitioners

A ADHD: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder APIS: Assessment, Planning Interventions and Supervision APR: Assessment, Planning and Review - the process by which educational plans for young people are put into place and regularly reviewed to ensure that education is targeted and attainable ASBO: Anti-Social Behavioural Order ASSET: Assessment profiling tool used within the youth justice system Actuarial justice: An approach to justice that emphasises management of risk and systems management of crime and disorder rather than its eradication. B BIBIC British Institute for Brained Injured Children: A registered charity encouraging home-based therapy to help children variously diagnosed as having autism, autistic tendencies and brain damage C CAMHS: Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services CARATS: Drug course: Counselling, Assessment, Referral, Advice and Throughcare Connexions: Linking of services required by young people - health, education, careers, housing advice, employment etc, through one agency. Operation is contracted out to local careers service providers. CTC: Communities That Care Caution Plus: A form of conditional cautioning, replaced by the 1998 Crime and Disorder Act by Reprimands and Final Warnings. Cognitive Disability: A learning disability Criminogenic: Related to, or causing, criminal behaviour. Cognitive alien: The notion, developed by Piaget, that children are not capable of thinking like adult humans. Control group: In an experiment, the group of test subjects left untreated or unexposed to some procedure and then compared with treated subjects in order to validate the results of the test. D DAT: Drug Action Team DCMS: Department for Culture, Media and Sport DEFRA: Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs DfES: Department for Education and Skills DH: Department of Health DTO: Detention and Training Order Diversion: The process of turning something aside. In this case of turning a young person away from offending. Desistance: In the criminological arena, generally refers to termination of a period of involvement in offending behaviour Dysfunctional Behaviour: A dysfunctional behaviour can be defined as “an inappropriate action or response, other than an activity of daily living, in a given social milieu that is a problem for the caregiver.” Dysfunctional behaviours commonly accompany cognitive impairment and are a significant source of burden to caregivers. Dysfunctional behaviours may be the first sign of a dementing illness, even before caregivers perceive changes in the patient's cognitive abilities. However, unlike cognitive impairment, dysfunctional behaviours are amenable to medical treatment.??? Diversionary activity: Activities designed to occupy a young person’s time and, hence, reduce the risk of their becoming involved in offending. E E2E: Entry to Employment EPQA: Effective Practice Quality Assurance ETE: Education, Training & Employment EWO: Education Welfare Officer Every Child Matters: Originally a green paper published in 2003 as a result of the death of Victoria Climbé, now a government strategy for child protection. H HLS: Heads of Learning & Skills – These manage the educational resources and policies of the YOIs I IDPR: Inmate Development and Pre-release Training IEP: Incentive and Earned Privileges ILP: Individual Learning Plan – each young person in secure accommodation ought to have one. This informs the teaching he/she is given to attain certain goals and is linked to FE and the teaching of literacy and numeracy skills ISSP: Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programmes – run by YOTs as alternative to custodial sentence, providing educational and reparations support together with surveillance such as tagging/curfews etc. Intervention: A professional engagement with a subject to overcome problems including addiction and propensity to commit criminal acts. J JASP: Juvenile Awareness Staff Training K KEEP: Key Elements of Effective Practice Key Worker: A case worker with responsibility of a young person serving a custodial sentence? KIQ: Key Indicator of Quality KPI: Key Performance Indicators – set to assess performance against prison targets Sometimes called KTPs KPT: Key Performance Targets L LAC: Looked After Children – those in the care system LASCH: Local Authority Secure Children’s Home (formerly LASU – Local Authority Secure Unit) LEA: Local Education Authority LIDS: Local Inmates Database System LSC: Learning & Skills Council LSPA: Learning & Skills Performance Advisers – employed by YJB but working under OLSU on monitoring of performance in juvenile secure estate M MORE: Offending behaviour course: Motivating Offenders to Rethink Everything Magistrate: A person who acts as a judge in a court of law that deals with crime that are not serious (i.e. summary rather than indictable). Malicious wounding: A serious offence of violence committed purposefully (Section 18 Grievous Bodily Harm). N Nat Spec: National Specification for Learning & Skills – framework for education in secure accommodation NEET: Not in Education, Employment or Training NQF: National Qualifications Framework NAYJ: National Association for Youth Justice. National standards: Required standards of practice set by the Home Secretary for workers in the juvenile and adult criminal justice systems. O OBP: Offending Behaviour Programmes OLJ: Offenders Learning Journey (supersedes the National Specification for Learning and Skills) OLSU: Offenders’ Learning and Skills Unit (formerly PLSU) Onset: Junior version of Asset for pre-emptive interventions. P PA: Personal Adviser – linked to Connexions services and YOTs to support young people in all areas (education, housing, health etc) PAYP: Positive Activities for Young People (formerly SPLASH) – community crime prevention scheme) Positive Features: YJB (sports-based) crime prevention initiative PRU: Pupil Referral Unit – locally education children expelled from schools Pre-sentence report: Report prepared for the Youth, Magistrates’ or Crown Court by the probation Service or Youth Offending Service as an aid to sentencing. Q QA: Quality Assurance R ROTL: Release on Temporary Licence Remand Foster Care: Where young people in England or Wales are "remanded" by the court to the care of a specially trained foster carer Resilience: The ability to recover quickly from illness, change or misfortune. Responsivity: A principle of effective practice in which the worker responses the specific needs and circumstances of an young person. For instance, by being sensitive to their cultural needs or learning styles. Recidivism: The act of committing further offences. Rick and protective factors: Those factors thought to be responsible for increasing or decreasing the likelihood of further offending. Reflective learner: The ability to reflect critically upon the information, ideas, arguments, theories and claims being made in materials being studied. Rights to Action: An agenda setting paper similar to Every Child Matters but applicable to Wales only. Restorative justice: A form of justice whereby resolutions to disputes and crimes are resolved through mediation and agreements to repair the harm done Reoffending: Further criminal activity committed after conviction. Reconviction: A further criminal conviction received after a criminal sanction has been previously imposed. S S90/91/92: Section 90/91/92 - long term (over 2 years) sentences for juveniles (previously S53) SACHS: JYB database of secure accommodation SEN: Special Educational Needs SENCO: Special Educational Needs Co-Coordinator - each school or educational establishment has one (or someone who is trained to act in that capacity) to deal with the paperwork and put teaching plans in place for students with special needs SEU: Standards and Effectiveness Unit (part of DfES) SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time limited - used in setting objectives for training/evaluation/appraisal systems etc SPLASH: Now called PAYP SSDA: Sector Skills Development Agency STC: Secure Training Centre Secure Estate: Juvenile ‘secure’ (meaning locked up) establishments including STCs, LASCHs and YOIs. Safeguarding Children: Section 11 of the Children Act 2004 places a statutory duty on key people and bodies to make arrangements to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. U UNCRC: United nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. V VT: Vocational Trainer VTS: Visiting Teacher Service - home-based educational provision for young people not attached to schools Y YIP: Youth Inclusion Programme YISP: Youth Inclusion and Support Panel YJB: Youth Justice Board YJS: Youth justice system YOI: Young Offender Institution YOT: Youth Offending Team

See also

GRIP (Group Intervention Panel)