Department of Computing
University of Central Lancashire
Preston
Lancashire
PR1 2HE
UK
EMail Project Coordinator
(Katie Taylor)
Lancashire Youth Offending Team
Halliwell House
15-17 Halliwell Street
Chorley
PR7 2AL
Lancashire
UK
EMail Project Coordinator
(Nigel Holt)
Youth Justice
What is Youth Justice?
The Crime And Disorder Act 1998 intended to improve community safety and the youth justice system. It placed a duty on chief police officers and local authorities to work together and implement a strategy for reducing crime and disorder. A new Youth Justice Board was set up to monitor the operation of the youth justice system, disseminate good practice and advise the Secretary of State on national standards.
The Youth Offending Teams were established in each local authority. The youth offending teams co—ordinated Youth Justice Services. They are a multi—agency approach and are made up of at least:
- A probation officer
- A social worker
- A police officer
- A representative from the health authority
- An education representative
Who and What are Young Offenders?
We (YOT) work with young people between the ages of 10 and 17 who have committed offences — from pre court Final Warnings to custodial sentences. Offences range from shoplifting and minor causes of criminal damage to serious violent and sexual offences.
Sometimes a young person cannot explain why they have offended and it is one of the responsbilities of the YOT to help them understand their reason for engaging in criminal activity. Some examples of why young people offend are:- boredom, being with the wrong friends, wanting money, wanting a laugh, excitement, involvement with drugs — these are the initial superficial answers we get from young people — if these were the ONLY reasons then our job would be a lot easier. We find that bullying, poor self image, excluding from school, welfare issues, physical and sexual abuse, or additinal concerns that the Yot has to deal with. These problems does not excuse the behaviour of the young person it is the responsibility of the YOT to try and understand why it is, and indeed, help he young person understand the reasons behind the offence. As a YOT officer, I work to address a young person's offending behaviour and try to encourage a young person to take responsibility for his or her actions, and also make ammends to the community for his or her crimes.
Youth Crime
Some notes taken from the Crime info, put together by the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies at Kings College London.
- A child in England and Wales is defined by law as anyone who is under the age of 18.
- A young offender is someone who has been convicted of an offence between the ages of 10 — 20 years. The age of responsibility in this country is therefore 10 years, which is younger than most other European countries.
Not surprisingly, offending by young people appears to be fairly common. A recent survey found that nearly half of 11 to 16 year old school children in the UK admit to having breaking the law. However, most young people do so infrequently and many of the offences are minor thefts, squabbles and school-ground fights.
Most offences are caused by a small nucleus of persistent offenders. Home Office research has found that about 3% of young offenders commit 26% of youth crime. The fear of crime involving young people may be disproportionate, as in 2000, 88% of detected crime was committed by people over the age of 18. Furthermore, 85% of young offenders cautioned don't come to the attention of the police again within two years.
This said, the statistics do not speak for themselves and crime figures can vary considerably. Taking this into consideration, youth crime appears to have been falling for a number of years although, custodial sentences for young people have increased.
A number of theories and, also the government, feel that the most appropriate measures to deal with a young person who offends are those that enable him or her to develop new skills and strategies and, to acknowledge, understand and make amends for their offending behaviour. It has been widely accepted that this is done most effectively within the young person's immediate community. For the young person to address their offending behaviour through a combination of reparation and look at what services the young person needs within their community to prevent further offending.
In 2002 the number of children in U.K. custodial establishments stood at 3133. This was a 50% increase in over the past ten years and also the third highest figure for any European nation. The Commons Health Select Committee recently warned that the current hard—line approach to youth crime was incompatible with the UN convention on the rights of the child. Furthermore, the reconviction rates are also very high and therefore, questions may be asked how successful custody is. It will take the young person off the streets for a while; however, the young person is likely to return to the same situation with fewer support networks to help with the rehabilitive process needed to change the young person's attitudes to their offending behaviour. Therefore, the difficulty lies when addressing the measure and level of punishment, rehabilitation and support needed to reduce offending in young people.
This website has been developed using a variety of methods that have been proven to address and reduce the young person's offending behaviour. They are not used in isolation and the website is simply a device to work with young people in an engaging and interactive manner which we hope meets their needs and learning style. This work will be undertaken with a trained member of the youth offending team. It will address issues around:
- Substance misuse
- Anger
- Victims
- Reparation
- Peer pressure
- Consequences of getting into trouble etc.
As mentioned previously, this work is not used in isolation. It is part of a large package of work, tailor made for the young person through a comprehensive assessment of the young persons needs and risks to themselves and the public.
Community sentences need to focus on multi-agency work in an attempt to help young people. THis will include a combination of support and guidance, with an element of punishment, hopefully this will encourage young people to accept responsibility for their crimes in a manner that is acceptable to the victims, the community and the young people themselves.