Supervision
Assessments
Young people at risk of offending from the age of 8
can be referred to the Youth Offending Service for
prevention work by Neighbourhood Action Groups, and
young people over the age of 10 who have been warned
by the police or sentenced in Youth Court are
automatically referred to the service. Officers
assess each child using a structured tool called
Onset (prevention) or Asset (Warnings and Court
Orders). The assessment considers the young
person’s living arrangements, family relationships,
physical and mental health, substance use, education
needs, behaviour, attitude, motivation, risk of harm
to others and vulnerability. Each section is scored
and interventions are made to meet the needs
identified in the assessment. To make informed
assessments and interventions, Youth Offending
Service officers liaise with schools, health and
social care professionals. The service has a
dedicated community psychiatric nurse, substance
misuse specialist and accommodation officer.
Prevention
Depending on the seriousness of the offence, and the
stage a young person is at in the youth justice
system, there are different arrangements for their
supervision. If a child has been referred for
prevention work, the interventions will address
welfare concerns, support young people to access and
thrive in appropriate education settings, support
parents and carers, and
divert young people into constructive activities.
For Final Warnings the content of interventions and
length of involvement depends on the assessment.
Contact with the young person and parents takes place
in the community, at home, schools or youth clubs.
Staff are based at two teams in the north and south of
the city.
Court
Orders
On first conviction a young person will usually
receive a Referral Order and, following the
assessment,
a panel of local volunteers
meet with the child and the parents. This meeting may
include the victim’s views or the victim may choose to
attend. A contract is agreed to ensure that the young
person responds to the
victim’s views,
contributes something to
the community that has been harmed by the offence
and to help prevent reoffending.
On further convictions a range of community sentences
are available of various length and intensity. Action
Plan Orders involve contact twice a week for the first
half of a 3 month order, Supervision Orders can last
between 6 months and 3 years. If a young person is
sentenced to a Detention and Training Order, they will
spend half of the sentence in a Secure Training Centre
or Youth Offending Institution (from the age of 15),
and the second half supervised by the Youth Offending
Service in the community. If they breach their
licence requirements, they can be recalled to
custody.
For further information on sentences, orders
and agreements
click
here.
ISSP
Programme
The most intensive supervision is the
Intensive Supervision and
Surveillance Programme (ISSP),
attached to a Supervision Order, as a condition of
bail, or on release from custody. This involves
monitoring through electronic tagging, voice
verification, and 25 hours of programmed activity a
week.
Interventions
The Youth Offending Service delivers a range of
offence-focussed programmes aimed at vehicle crime or
weapon crime, for example, which can be used
individually or in groups. Different approaches
include an IT based programme, where young people can
story board offences and their outcomes, to learn
about consequences for themselves and others. A craft
group aimed at mothers of young people at risk
provides an opportunity for parents to support each
other and develop their own creative skills to use
with their children. Anger management groups use a
cognitive-behavioural approach to help young people
identify their triggers and delay their reaction, so
that they can start to choose less destructive ways of
expressing their anger.
Specialist workers offer interventions to minimise
harm and reduce drug use, for example. This involves
educating young people on the effects of substances
and motivating them to change their habits. The
service is piloting a programme aimed at black young
people who are over represented in the justice system,
to address issues of identity and self-image and
encourage constructive goal setting and support in
achieving them.
Non-compliance
If a young person fails to cooperate with the
requirements of a Court Order, they will be warned
twice and given the opportunity to comply. If they
still do not cooperate, they will be returned to Court
for breach of the order. They may be returned to
Court without receiving a warning if the nature of the
breach is deemed serious enough. The court may decide
to continue the order or revoke it and re-sentence the
young person. For Referral Orders the young person is
referred back to the youth offender panel initially.
The panel may decide to vary the contract or refer the
young person back to Court. The Court may deal with
non-compliance by extending the referral order up to
12 months in total.
