About Youth Justice
The best way to stop young people from re-offending is to stop them from committing the crime in the first instance. We aim to tackle the main risk factors that might lead a young individual to become involved in crime or anti social behaviour. These risk factors include:
- No or a lack of education
- Substance misuse
- Family or relationship issues
- Social crowd – having peers that have offended
We don’t just target those who are offending, but also young people who are at high risk of offending.
Prevention
By tackling the issues above and intervening at a early stage we can reduce the amount of young people falling into the life of crime by giving them the knowlege, skills and confidence that will help them to stay clear of the path of crime.
YIP – Youth Inclusion Project
The ‘Youth Inclusion Projects’ which operates in 110 of the most deprived and crime striken areas of England and Wales were established in 2000. They provide programs that are specially made for 8 to 17 year olds who are believed to be at risk of offending or becoming involved in anti-social behaviour.
The aim of the ‘Youth Inclusion Project’ is to dramatically reduce the amount of crime and anti-social behaviour in the areas where these schemes are set up. The young people that are part of the YIP are usually identified by agencies such as the police, social services, youth offending teams (YOTs) and local education authorities.
This scheme enables young people somewhere they can go in order to expand or learn new skills, get actively involved in community activities and projects or get some guidance on career paths and opportunities.
Although each program is tailor made to suit the individuals specific needs and requirements each project has the following subsequent aims:
- To prevent the young people who are part of the YIP to commit offences
- Reduce the amount of people that are in the Criminal Justice System
- To make access to specialist and mainstream services more accessible
- To tackle the risks factors which are recognised by the YIP assessment.
- To get involved not just with the individual but with the community and families
Being project manager of the YIP team in the Rochdale area, I am involved in the work that is focused on the Langley Estate in Middleton which is home to over 100,000 people. Langley is considered to be one of the largest council estates in Europe and has a high anti-social behaviour and crime rate.
We target individuals between the ages of 13 and 16 who are deemed at ‘high risk’ and get them involved in projects from sports to vocational courses.
Working with the police and other local agencies, 50 teenagers were selected to become the focus of the YIP, with an additional 150 other young individuals aged between 10 and 17 who are also being provided support by our small team.
According to local police figures since the scheme was set up 12 months ago, arrest rates among the teenagers on the estate have decreased by a staggering 70% and In addition statistics show that crime as a whole has lowered by 31%.
Matthew, one of the original 50 young people to be targeted by YIP was interested in DJ workshop which was made available by the YIP team.
I went from being taught how to DJ to becoming a neighbourhood warden – it was a progressive route… DJ’ing is what kept me out of prison… They caught me at the right time. YIP has given me confidence and maturity. Now I’ve got respect for people – and from people.
The YIP scheme is not just about crime prevention, it’s also about providing opportunities and options. The program helps to harness and channel the talent of the young people, charting a course for their own development and giving them access to their own goals.
Currently we provide teenagers from the Rochdale area with sessions and courses in DJing, Mechanics, Arts and Sports.