Youth Offending Team

Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) were introduced by the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and were established in England and Wales in April 2000. They have primary responsibility for the provision of local youth justice services with the aim of preventing offending and re-offending by children and young people.

Medway YOT brings together the staff and wider resources of a range of local partner agencies – principally social services, education, the police, probation service and health. The rationale for this multi-disciplinary approach is that the underlying predisposing factors which cause offending behaviour can be addressed speedily and effectively.

The work of YOTs is guided by the Youth Justice Board (YJB) which is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Ministry of Justice but with important input also from the Department for Children Education & Families. YOT work is overseen by the Medway YOT Management Board, which is now chaired by the Chief Executive of the Local Authority, and comprises senior representatives of the five key statutory agencies – Social Services; Education; Probation; Police and Health, as well as the YOT Manager. In addition a range of other agencies are also represented, including the Connexions service, Housing, Medway Equalities council and Cookham Wood.

The Management Board meets on a quarterly basis to provide the governance arrangements for the YOT and has corporate ownership for preventing youth offending. The Management Board is also responsible for ensuring the delivery of the Youth Justice Plan and ensuring that the YOT is adequately resourced and funded. The YOT is funded from a number of different sources including Medway Council, The Youth Justice Board and our partner.
Preventative work is carried out by a Prevention officer to help prevent offending and anti social behaviour in young people who are at risk of becoming involved with the criminal justice system through their behaviour.

There is also a Youth Inclusion Support Panel (YISP) who deal specifically with prevention in the 8-13 year age group who have not yet been seriously involved in activities against the law. They involve partner agencies in plans and activities to support and positively mentor the young people and their families.
The YOT is located at 67 Balfour Road, Chatham. There are currently 42 staff in the service both full and part time. In addition there is a seconded team of five social workers located within Cookham Wood Young Offenders Institute, who are responsible for carrying out a range of resettlement functions. The work of the YOT is also supported by around 30 trained volunteers who sit on Referral Order Panels.
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