Youth Offending Service

Torbay Youth Offending Service comprises of two teams, the Youth Offending Team (YOT) based in Torquay and LINK Youth Support Team based in Paignton.

The YOT is a multi-agency partnership, established in April 2000 under the requirements of the Crime & Disorder Act 1998. The YOT team includes professionals from Social Services, Educaiton, the Police, Probation Torbya Care Trust and Connexions,who are all working together in partnership with the primary aim of preventing children and young people from offending. Essentially Torbay's Youth Offending Team works with 10 to 18 year olds, the majority of whom are under some form of statutory supervision.

LINK operates effectvely as the preventative arm of the service and engages on a voluntary basis with young people between the ages of 7 and 15 years old, again who are at risk of offending, exclusion, or being taken into Local Authority accommodation / care. The work of this service is currently overseen by Safer Communities Executive group (**link**), involving senior representatives from key partner agencies.

Services provided by the Youth Offending Service include:

Preventative Work
The YOT undertakes some preventative and early intervention work, however most of the Youth Offending Service's preventative work is provided by LINK Youth Support.

Appropriate Adult Service
In cases where it is not possible, or it is inappropriate to have a parent/guardian or someone over 18 appointed by the young person (aged 10-16 years), a trained member of the Youth Offending Team will ensure that a young person has their interests and rights protected at key points during their detention and interview at the police station.

Final Warning Programme
After receiving a Final Warning the Young Person will be assessed and then offered a programme of interventions according to need, delivered primarily by the police officers within the team.

Bail Support / Information and Remand Provision
Support to those young people between the ages of 10 – 17 years who are at risk of a custodial or local Authority Remand; or in danger of breaching their bail conditions.

Referral Orders
he majority of young people convicted and pleading guilty for the first time in court will receive a Referral Order.

The YOT facilitates Youth Offender Panels; staffed by volunteers from the community who have received special comprehensive training preparing them to deal with young offenders, their families, victims and communities. Within a panel the young offender will have to agree to a ‘contract of change’ comprising a compulsory element of reparation, and also requirements based on the factors influencing offending behaviour such as school attendance.

Pre-Sentence / Specific Sentence Reports and Court Duty
The law states that the Court must obtain a written report (prepared by a member of the Youth Offending Team), before it passes a custodial sentence or most types of community sentences. The report describes the offence, its effect on the victim, the offenders home background and how they are doing at school / work. It also lists any previous convictions, an assessment of risk of re-offending and makes recommendations to the court about the most suitable sentence

Work with Parents and Families
The YOT team aims to reduce offending behaviour by young people through the medium of Parenting Support and Education.

Our parenting Co-ordinator works in partnership with a local family centre.

The YOT understands that parents want to offer their children the best possible chance in life, but this is not always possible. The interventions can be with families in a preventative manner, catering for parents of young people who are not yet engaged in serious ant-social behaviour, but might be at risk of developing in that direction.

When the courts make a Parenting Order the YOT will actively engage with the parents offering interventions including support, guidance and education.

Community Sentence Provision
The YOT is primarily responsible for the statutory supervision of all community sentences (i.e. Reparation,Supervision Orders, Action Plan Orders, Probation Orders and Combination Orders). Each Order will have a Responsible Officer appointed, though input into the programme of intervention could com from a variety of sources from within the team (e.g. health, education, reparation, parenting) and also from other outside agencies.

Restorative Justice
Restorative justice is an important underlying principle for all youth justice disposals, from Final Warnings and Referral Orders to Reparation Orders, Action Plan Orders and Supervision Orders. Restorative processes provide opportunities for victims, offenders and the community to communicate and agree how to deal with an incident. Although restorative processes typically result in practical reparation, the communication between victim and offender can also produce powerful emotional responses leading to mutual satisfaction and socially inclusive outcomes.

Through Care and Post Supervision
All young people who are made subject to a custodial sentence will be allocated a Through Care Officer from within the YOT. Any young person facing a custodial sentence will be provided with advice, information and support from the YOT.

The YOT is responsible for the statutory supervision of all such cases, including the period of release that forms the community part of the sentence.

Intensive Surveillance and Supervision Programme (ISSP)
ISSP is the most rigorous non-custodial intervention available for young offenders. As its name suggests, it combines unprecedented levels of community-based surveillance with a comprehensive and sustained focus on tackling the factors that contribute to the young person's offending behaviour.

ISSP targets the most active repeat young offenders, and those who commit the most serious crimes.

The programme aims to:

Reduce the frequency and seriousness of offending in the target groups;
Tackle the underlying needs of offenders which give rise to offending, with a particular emphasis on education and training;
Provide reassurance to communities through close surveillance backed up by rigorous
enforcement.