Exploitation and Youth Justice Service
The Exploitation and Youth Justice Service works with young people to help stop offending, maximise their full potential and help them become responsible, crime-free members of the community.
Six key objectives the service works towards:
- The swift administration of justice so that every young person accused of breaking the law has the matter resolved without delay
- To confront young offenders with the consequences of their offending
- To put in place interventions that tackle the specific factors which put a young person at risk of re-offending
- To make sure that the punishment is proportionate to the seriousness of the crime
- To reinforce the responsibilities of the parents and to provide advice and guidance to them
- To make certain that young offenders are encouraged to make reparation to their victim(s)
Who we are
Following the 1998 Crime and Disorder Act, Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) were established in all local government areas in England and Wales.
These teams are tasked with carrying out all youth justice services within their area. Slough Youth Offending Team officially came into being on April 1, 2000. In April 2021, it became known as the Exploitation and Youth Justice Service.
The service is a multi-agency team that brings together the experience of police, social care, probation, education and health, in order to prevent offending and re-offending by children and young people.
Having representatives from all agencies based in one team helps to ensure that a more comprehensive and cohesive service is provided.
It is the aim of the service to engage young offenders at an early stage, and in the context of their families, so that offending behaviour can be tackled before it becomes entrenched.
What we do
The aims of the service are:
- to reduce the incidents of young offenders sentenced to custody
- to contribute to the protection of the public through supporting local crime reduction strategies
- to provide earlier and more effective interventions when a young person is at risk of offending or has re-offended
- to implement services that are appropriate for the multi-racial community of Slough, while ensuring that our practice is targeted at eliminating all forms of discrimination
- to enable young people to repay a debt to victims and the community via reparation.
Through detailed assessments and discussions with the young person and their family, the service will try to determine the causes of the offending behaviour and the specific issues involved in order to identify any risks they may pose to themselves and others. Steps will then be taken to facilitate a change of the offending lifestyle.
The service works closely with a number of other agencies in order to provide a full range of services for the young people. These include social care, health, education departments/organisations etc.
Services provided by the Exploitation and Youth Justice Service
- Supervision of young people who offend who are sentenced to any kind of Order by the Court (i.e. Youth Rehabilitation Order, Referral Order etc.)
- Acting as the appropriate adult during police interviews when a parent is not available
- Supplying bail information and bail support services
- Conducting substance abuse assessments and referrals
- Preparing reports for the Courts
- Providing through care and post-release supervision of young people sentenced to custody
- Offering young people leisure activities to enable them to use their free time constructively
- Assisting young people who are of school age and who are not in school to re-enter school, or find an alternative arrangement to meet their educational needs
- Offering parental and family support through individual and group work
- Liaising with victims in order to obtain their opinions and give them an opportunity to participate in restorative conferencing
- Giving support to young people who are remanded to local authority care or custody.