Preventative services - young children

Preventing Young People Offending

Derby City Youth Offending Service (YOS) is a multi-agency service made up of professionals from a range of organisations including the Police, Children’s Social Care (including Education), Probation, and Health. Its main aim is to prevent and reduce offending by children and young people aged between 10 and 18 in the City.

Derby YOS has a targeted approach to work with the 'most at risk' vulnerable young people in the City who are at risk of offending or becoming involved in anti-social behaviour.

Youth Crime Prevention Worker

When a child or young person (who has not received a previous reprimand, final warning, caution, youth conditional caution or court sentence), is displaying behaviour which puts them at risk of being processed through the formal youth justice system, then agencies may make a referral to the Multi-Agency Team in which the a Youth Crime Prevention Worker is based.

Once identified, the young people and their parents or carers will be contacted by the Youth Crime Prevention Worker, the project explained to them and they will be invited to participate.

Intervention Plan

An assessment will be undertaken of the key needs and issues to be addressed and a plan of work – known as an intervention plan - will be agreed. The key aims of the intervention plan will be...

• to support young people
• to divert them away from offending behaviours
• to refocus them into positive and sustainable activity.

Support or interventions offered by the Youth Crime Prevention Workers may include:

• one-to-one and group work themed sessions
• liaison with other agencies involved with the young person or family
• support and signposting for young people and their families
• positive activities
• support for parents.

Useful forms

• Youth offending service