Page contents:
1.
Introduction
2. Youth crime prevention
3. Referral order panels
4. Restorative justice
5. Intensive supervision and surveillance programme (ISSP)
6. Bail supervision and support
7. Mentoring
8. Drug treatment testing orders (DTTOs)
9. Parenting order
10. Contact Details
11. Other useful websites
IntroductionThe Derby Youth Offending Service aims to reduce offending by children and young people aged between 10 and 17, and to prevent offending by all young people. The Youth Offending Service consists of representatives from social services, the Police, Probation, Health, Education and other local Organisations. This multi-agency approach is designed to address the risk factors associated with offending and to meet the holistic needs of young people.
The Youth Offending Service is part of the Derby Community safety partnership and is headed by Des Morrison. The Derby Youth Offending Service has reduced the rate of robbery, burglary, and violent crime re-offending. The YOS provide a wide range of community alternatives to custody ranging from prevention to intensive supervision.
Youth Crime Prevention
Derby Youth Offending Service has a targeted approach to work with the "most at risk" vulnerable young people in the city in partnership through the development of Youth Inclusion Projects, Youth Inclusion and Support Panels, and Positive Activities for Young People. All of this project work with young people aged 8 to 17 years of age is built upon the premise of early identification and referral, followed by targeted intervention work, in order to divert and refocus young people into positive and sustainable activity.
Referral Order Panels
Young offenders convicted of their first offence in the youth court will be referred to a community-based ‘youth offender panel.’ A Panel is made up of at least two trained volunteers from the community (community panel members) and a member of the Youth Offending Service. The offender is the expected to agree a ‘contract’ with the panel. If the young offender fails to agree a contract or fails to abide by it during the term of the order, the case is referred back to the court for re-sentencing.
The aims of these panels are to ensure young offenders take responsibility for their behaviour, to put things right for the victim and to bring young people into the law-abiding community.
Restorative Justice
This is an approach where the involvement of the victim is as important as that of the offender. It gives the offender the opportunity to make an apology as well as allowing the offender to try and repair the harm caused. The meeting of victim and offender in a controlled environment gives both parties the chance to explain the consequences of the offender’s actions. If the victim does not wish to participate, the Youth Offending Service will step in to express the views of the victim. Other significant adults or other people affected by the crime may be invited to attend in order to let the offender understand the effect their actions have had.
Restorative Justice seeks to balance the concerns of the victim and the community with the need to reintegrate the offender into society.
Intensive Supervision & Surveillance Programme (ISSP)
The ISSP is the intense supervision of a persistent young offender. By doing this, Derby YOS makes far better use of public money. It costs about £50,000 to keep a young person in youth custody for 12 months compared with a maximum of £8,000 to work with a young person on a 12month Intensive Supervision and Surveillance programme. The establishment of the programme marks a major development in providing a mix of highly structured programme for the supervision and control of prolific and serious young offenders, and a means of greatly increasing our knowledge and understanding of why they continue to offend and what interventions are most likely to effect their desistance from crime. These young offenders are very criminally active, and also have the greatest potential to commit a disproportionate amount of crime as they grow older, and the majority of the most serious and harmful offences in the future.
Bail Supervision and Support
The Bail Supervision and Support Scheme offers additional support and assistance from the Youth Offending Service, to help young people who appear in court and are at risk of being refused bail. A programme is then developed as an alternative to remand in custody. This programme requires the youth to attend the Bail Supervision and Support Scheme for appointments up to five times per week and participate in certain activities, for example:
- Attendance at the careers office
- Participation in activities at local youth centres
- Attend appointments at school
Mentoring
A mentor is a role model. For most of us, our role model is either one or both of our parents but some young people do not have a role model to learn from. This is where the YOS steps in. In Derby there are several mentoring projects. The fusion project is one of these. Fusion is a mentoring scheme geared towards giving young Black and Asian people support to help boost their opportunities and divert them from re-offending.
The Enthusiasm project delivers the Youth Inclusion Programme (YIP) for the YOS. Enthusiasm mentors work with young people who are at risk of offending or social exclusion. A recent evaluation by the youth justice board indicated that those mentored by Enthusiasm have a 92% decrease in arrest. Many of the young people mentored by Enthusiasm return to mainstream education, which leads to breaking the cycle of offending and withdrawal from society.
Drug Treatment Testing Orders (DTTOs)
Drug Treatment Testing Orders are a community-based sentence designed to break the link between addiction and offending. DTTOs work when an offender is arrested and then a pre-sentence report is completed. If this then indicates that the offence is drug related then the offender might be suitable for a DTTO. This could be a possible alternative to a prison sentence.
Parenting Order
This order may be imposed for up to one year and requires parents to comply with any requirements of the order, and to attend counselling or guidance sessions at least once a week for a period of three months. The order is available for the parents of any young person convicted of an offence, provided the court is satisfied that the order will assist in preventing further offending.
Contact Details
TheYouth Offending Service is managed and delivered by the Derby Community Safety Partnership. For further information please visit their website:
Safer Derby 
Other Useful Websites
Derbyshire Constabulary Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Derby City Primary Care Trust Derbyshire Probation Service Derby Central Voluntary Service