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16.1 The Youth Justice Team

Contents

  1. Structure of the Youth Justice Team
  2. Aims of the Youth Justice Team
  3. Information Sharing
  4. Equality and Diversity
  5. Working with Parents


1. Structure of the Youth Justice Team

1.1 The Youth Justice Team (YJT) is a Multi-Disciplinary Partnership including Social Services, Health Services, the Probation Service, the Education Department, the Department of Economic Development and Isle of Man Police. For the Values and Principles, see Values and Principles. The team consists of YJT officers, probation officers, police and non-youth justice specialist staff such as police officers, and health and careers specialists.
1.2

The YJT is responsible for the supervision of children and young people subject to pre-court interventions and statutory court disposals. The YJT recognises that the effective delivery of services to young people who offend and their families requires clear lines of accountability and clarity of role. Therefore the YJT is committed to the development of structures that:

  • Ensure that case management responsibilities for all cases are clear to all members of staff and consistently applied;
  • Services provided by the YJT are consistent with and complementary to those provided by Children's Services.
1.3 For more information about the case management responsibilities of the YJT, see Working with Young People Under Orders Procedure, Introduction.


2. Aims of the Youth Justice Team

2.1 The YJT is committed to preventing offending, and re-offending, of children and young people and will deliver effective services directed to attaining that aim. It will work in partnership with other agencies to ensure the safeguarding of children within the Isle of Man. The YJT is committed to equality of treatment of staff, service users and other people who come into contact with it. It is committed to ensuring that staff who work for the service are supported, well managed, equipped to do the job and have access to appropriate training and development.


3. Information Sharing

3.1 The Youth Justice Team is committed to sharing information as effectively as possible with other agencies where to do so will promote the aim of reducing offending. At the same time, the service will endeavour to ensure confidentiality of personal data where the public interest does not requires that information be disclosed.
3.2

The Youth Justice Team can lawfully obtain, process and share personal information in respect of young people, and their families, who have offended or are at risk of offending, provided that:

  • The purpose of processing the data is to prevent or reduce youth crime;
  • The exchange of information is limited to those agencies who are relevant authorities which would include police, probation, education, Children's Services, the fire service and health;
  • The nature and extent of information held is proportionate to the purpose for which it is being used, and the processing of that information is fair.
3.3 For more information see the Isle of Man Safeguarding Board website, Information Sharing.


4. Equality and Diversity

4.1 The Youth Justice Team aims to:

  • Identify and respond to ethnic diversity in relation to staff; the needs of minority ethnic young people who offend, their families, their communities, including faith communities and victims of racially aggravated crime;
  • Through consultative processes and multi-agency planning raise the confidence of minority ethnic communities who may come into contact with the youth justice system;
  • Ensure equality in the administration of justice and the elimination of discrimination on the grounds of race, sex, age, religion, sexual orientation or on any other factors that cannot be justified;
  • Ensure that discriminatory behaviour and attitudes are challenged;
  • Take positive action to eliminate direct and indirect discrimination in recruitment, training, employment policies and procedures;
  • Ensure equitable accessibility to services, e.g. cultural, geographical and physical accessibility to buildings;
  • Ensure provision of interpreters and assistance with learning difficulties;
  • Where applicable ensure effective monitoring and contract management of agencies providing services;
  • Ensure the promotion of understanding and combating racially motivated offending;
  • Ensure that all assessments and interventions with young people demonstrate commitment to diversity and equality of treatment;
  • Ensure that manager’s oversight of practice incorporates attention to issues concerning diversity and equality of treatment.


5. Working with Parents

5.1 YJT recognises that working with parents / carers is an essential component of reducing offending by young people. In that context, the YJT will provide a range of services and support to parents / carers on both a voluntary and a statutory basis. Such services will be offered to the parents / carers of all young people referred to the YJT except where the family circumstances would make it inappropriate to do so.
5.2 All parenting interventions offered by the YJT will be informed by high quality, inclusive, assessments. There is a presumption that an assessment of parental /carer need should be undertaken for all young people with whom the youth offending service works, unless there are clear reasons for not conducting such an assessment. The nature of parental support work offered should be informed by that assessment.
5.3 A priority should be given to engaging parents /carers on a voluntary basis. Interventions will be delivered in a non-stigmatising manner to avoid labelling participants as inadequate parents or carers.

End