The purpose of the Youth Offending Team (YOT) is to prevent offending and reduce re-offending by children and young people.

Key activities

The YOT’s key activities involve:

• Assessing the likelihood of re-offending and the risk of causing harm, and planning and managing interventions to reduce these risks;
• With partner agencies, strengthening protective factors against further offending, and ensuring that children and young people completing YOT interventions have access to the full range of universal services to maximise their life chances;
• Ensuring that interventions with children and young people are informed by the needs of victims and/or communities affected by their offending, and that victims are supported in taking up opportunities to be engaged in restorative processes with children and young people who offend; and
• Identifying children and young people at risk of becoming involved in offending, and ensuring that targeted and evidence-based interventions are provided either directly or by commissioning services to address needs.

A partnership

The YOT consists of staff from the City Council, Police, Probation, Health and Connexions, and is overseen by a partnership board with an independent chair.

The objective of the YOT’s Board is to support and maintain the YOT’s strategic location at the cusp of the Children’s Services, Criminal Justice System and Community Safety agendas. This is to ensure that it:

• Maintains the confidence of criminal justice agencies and the public in managing risk; and
• Supports children and young people to stay safe, be healthy, enjoy and achieve, make a positive contribution and achieve economic well-being.

Further information

Youth justice information (link to www.yjb.gov.uk)
Nottinghamshire Criminal Justice Board (link to www.lcjb.cjsonline.gov.uk/Nottinghamshire)