Youth Offending

The principal aim of the Youth Justice system, established by section 37 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, is to prevent youth offending and work with young people who offend.

The Youth Offending Service

Since April 2000, the government has required every area in the country to set up a Youth Offending Service. The Youth Offending Service brings workers from Probation, Social Services, Police, Education, Health and other local agencies. It also replaces the former youth justice team.

The Youth Offending Service is a multi-agency team brought together to work with young people who offend and to prevent youth offending.

In order to achieve this we have established a range of targets, which include:

• reducing the time it takes to deal with a young person from arrest to sentence

• reduce rates of re-offending

• developing strategies to combat discrimination

• reduce truancy and exclusion

• ensuring comprehensive resettlement plans for young people leaving custody

• working to reduce offending by looked after children
  
  

Islington Youth Offending Service Availability

The Youth Offending Service is for all local communities in the borough of Islington Council who are:

• young people between 10-17 yrs old

• resident in London Borough of Islington

• involved in offending

• at risk of offending
  
  

Services we Provide

Appropriate Adults - These are trained volunteers to ensure a young persons rights are observed when they are detained and interviewed by the police.

Final warnings - Assessment Programmes. The Youth Offending Service will assess the risk of re-offending and where appropriate provide a diversionary programme.

Bail support - The Youth Offending Service will provide programmes to support young people who are bailed either at court or on police bail. It includes activities/programmes to prevent re-offending whilst the case is being processed.

Placement in accommodation - Where a young person has been remanded in local authority accommodation.

Pre-Sentence Reports - Provide reports to the courts about young people and the causes of their offending.

Supervising Community Orders - these include supervision orders, reparation orders and action plan orders, probation and combination orders

Detention and Training Orders - This is a new custodial order. Half of the time spent is in custody and the other in the community. The Youth Offending Service will supervise these orders.

Parenting Orders - This requires parents to attend programmes arranged by the Youth Offending Service. The Court can make this order or parents can attend voluntarily.

When working with young people on the above orders the Youth Offending Service will address a range of issues, often in partnership with other agencies. These include:

• careers advice
• literacy and numeracy and school attendance
• mental health assessments
• drug and alcohol problems
• constructive leisure activities
• mentoring and befriending
• law and group work
• family relationships
  

Contact Details

Office address: 27 Dingley Place, London, EC1V 8BR

Telephone: 020 7527 7050 / 7060

Fax: 020 7527 7066

Opening Hours

The office is open 9.30am - 5.30pm, Monday to Friday.

An Islington Youth Offending Service worker is on duty on Islington weekly court day at Thames Youth court.

Ask any member of the court staff for details.

After 5.30 pm and at weekends, Youth Offending Services work is covered for emergencies only by the Emergency Duty Team - contact them on 020 7226 0992 .