Youth offending services
Young people who are accused of committing crimes need to be dealt with carefully, so that they become less likely to offend again. Locking young people away does not solve the problem.
The Department aims to offer a comprehensive support service for the Youth Court and those placed on orders that involve contact with Social Services. Pre-sentence reports are prepared for courts to assist in the magistrate’s decision making. Supervision Orders are managed to enable young offenders to grow out of offending.
In a joint project with Nacro, a remand management package can be offered to courts to enable young people charged with more serious crimes to be remanded to specialised foster parents with support rather than to secure units or prison. The Nacro Rhwyd Project also offer mediation and reparation between ofender and victims in an attempt to assist the offender to see the damage they cause to others as well as to themselves.
A new development is the creation of a Cautioning Panel which will offer the possibility of mediation and reparation at the cautioning stage for more impact on offenders at an earlier point than before. The aim of the service is to treat young people as individuals by making plans which show regard for their gender, culture, ethnic origin, religion and personal circumstances. We do not condone any criminal act, but try to reduce the risk of young people offending again.
Contact Social Services for more information - please see the contact details above.
