Wessex Youth Offending Team
The Wessex Youth Offending Team is a multi-disciplinary organisation that works both within Children’s Services and the Criminal Justice System. The YOT has one overriding aim which is to prevent offending behaviour by children and young people (10 to 17 years of age).
The Youth Offending Team was formed in 1998 in response to the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. Every local authority has, by law, to bring together people from key agencies to help prevent offending and work with young people.
The YOT’s work falls into 3 key areas:
- preventing crime and anti-social behaviour
- community supervision of offenders
- re-settlement of young people from custody
Wessex Youth Offending Team is the largest in the country, covering four Local Authority areas including 1 County Council, 11 District Councils and 3 unitary councils. In 2006/07 we worked with just under 5,000 young people who committed over 10,000 offences.
The annual Youth Justice Plan gives an overview of how the YOT delivers youth justice services in the Wessex area, includes a review of performance over the preceding year and sets targets for the coming year.
Each area and team subsequently prepares its own plan, demonstrating how these services will be delivered to meet local needs.
Wessex YOT is proud to have retained its Investors in People status in 2007 - one of the few Youth Offending Teams in the country to hold this in its own right.
To find out more about our work with Young Offenders click on the relevant page in the menu down the left handside of the page.