Youth Offending Service - a guide for young people

Assessments

An assessment is completed to understand what’s happened, what we can do to support you and how you can be involved in what happens next. We will listen to you and find out what’s going on in your life and what your views are about the future. We will also talk to your parents/carers.

We might also get the views of your school and any other services that are working with you.

How do we support you?

You might have to meet with your Youth Offending Team Officer regularly for a set period, set out by a panel or the court. If you do, we will create a plan with you about what we will do together when we meet. We will clearly explain what you are required to do, and what we will do for you.

The plan will include goals for:

• How I will keep safe and healthy
• How I will improve my future opportunities
• How I will try to make things better for people affected by what happened.
• How I will do positive work in the community
• How I will reduce potential harm to others through my behaviour
• How I will try to stop behaviour that could lead to offending

We can also help you meet any additional requirements you may have. For example, planning how to comply with an electronic monitor (tag).

We always try to listen to victims of harm, and we consider their needs.

Sometimes victims want to meet with people that have caused them harm and talk about it. This is called Restorative Justice. If this could happen with you, we will talk to you about it and plan it properly.