Youth Offending Service
Do You Want To Help Young People To Stop Offending?
From April 2002 Youth Courts across England and Wales were able to sentence Young People who have committed crimes to a Referral Order.
A Referral Order can be made by the Court against young offenders aged between 10-17 years who plead guilty and have not been convicted of an offence before. The main aim of this Order is for the offender to take responsibility for their crime and make some form of reparation to the person or community they have offended against and also address the causes of their offending.
Within 15 days of the Order being made the young person will be required to appear before a Panel made up of trained volunteers from the local community and a member of The Youth Offending Team. The victim of the offence will be invited to the meeting to explain to the young person and the Panel how they have been affected by the offence. In some cases the Victim may wish not to attend but may choose to issue a statement that can be read out at the meeting or send a representative to express their views. The Panel will also hear from the young person and their parents or carers and will also have read a report prepared by the Youth Offending Team.
Having listened to everybody's views the Panel will draw up a contract. The contract will seek to address the reasons behind the young persons offending behaviour and enable them to make reparation to the victim of the offence. The contract is legally binding.
Bracknell Forest Youth Offending Team is currently looking to recruit and train Volunteers from every sector of the community to become Panel Members. The only stipulations for expressing an interest are that you are 18 or over ,interested in working with young people and can commit a possible 3 hours per week. Full training will be provided.
 |
Listen |  |
Feedback |  |
