Youth Crime Prevention Team

Sheffield's Prevention Team offers voluntary support for children and young people who are at risk of becoming involved in criminal or anti-social behaviour.  Parents can also choose to receive support or guidance from the team.

Would your child benefit from working with the team?

Please consider some of the following:

• Is your child frequently getting into trouble at school?
• Has your child ever been excluded from school?
• Have your relationship problems affected your child?
• Do you live in an area where there is a high crime rate?
• Do you suspect your child is becoming involved in petty crime?
• Do you live in an area where there are concerns about the availability of drugs and alcohol to young people?
• Are you becoming unhappy with the type of young people your child is mixing with?

If you can answer 'yes' to one or more of these questions please contact the team for an informal chat about how we might be able to help.

Who can the team work with?

The Prevention Team works with:

• Children and young people aged 8-17 years
• Children and young people who are involved in anti-social behaviour and/or at risk of offending or re-offending
• Children and young people who are willing to participate in the programme, under a voluntary contract
• Children and young people who are involved in gang activity

What happens next?

When a referral is made to the team, it will be allocated to a Prevention Officer who will visit your child at home.  They will be able to discuss the type of support that is available before putting together a plan that will meet any identified needs and help keep your child from getting into any trouble in the future.  If you would like to make a referral please use the referral form at the bottom of this page.

Individual plans of support may include a combination of the following interventions (not an exhaustive list):

• One to one key work support (for lower risk cases, weekly/fortnightly visits for 3-6 months, for higher risk cases, almost daily contact for 6-12 months)
• Victim awareness/impact of offending work
• Anger management
• Family support from a Multi-Agency Support Team (MAST)
• Parenting
• Mentoring
• Substance misuse work
• Sexual health and exploitation work
• Consequences of carrying/using weapons
• Consequences of involvement in anti-social behaviour
• Fire safety sessions (all families are offered a free home fire safety check)
• Fast track mental health assessment/support
• Vehicle crime/safety work
• Comprehensive timetable of positive activities in school holiday periods

Please telephone 0800 138 8381 for a confidential discussion about the type of support that you can access.  Alternatively you can e mail us at yos_prevention@sheffield.gov.uk.