News
Youth Conference Service officially launches in Downpatrick (16/11/2006)
The face of youth justice in Downpatrick will change today, as the Youth Conference Service, part of the Youth Justice Agency officially launches in this area.From 2 October, the Youth Courts and the Public Prosecution Service in Downpatrick have been empowered to make referrals to the Youth Conference Service in these areas as a means of disposal.
Speaking about the launch of the service, Aideen McLaughlin, Assistant Director, Youth Conference Service says; “In the first month of the Youth Conference Service being available in Downpatrick, we have received fourteen court referrals.
“Youth Conference Co-ordinators working across the area are actively seeking to increase participation in conferences by members of the local community who are willing to share the views of how crime impacts on their area and create suggestions which will help to reduce crime”.
“We have already made presentations to the Down Community Safety Partnership and we have set-up future presentations to the Ballynahinch Community Group and Social Services in December. We will also continue to make direct links with a variety of local community groups and businesses to determine their view on youth crime and raise awareness of the potential reparation work that can take place in the local community of young offenders.”
The Youth Conference Service organises and facilitates conferences between victims of youth crime and the young offenders between the ages of 10 and 18, to help the offender make amends to their victim for the harm caused.
They come together to discuss the impact of the crime on the victim, to explore reasons why the young person committed the offence and agree what needs to happen to repair the harm and what the young person can do to stop offending.
Alice Chapman, Youth Conference Service Director, said; “Research has shown that the most effective way to prevent re-offending by children and young people is to make them feel involved in the decision-making process. However, this is not a soft option for young offenders and evidence clearly shows that restorative conferencing satisfies victims better than any other sentence. Victims’ views are taken into consideration and redress made for the harm caused”.
The Youth Conference Service is one directorate of the Youth Justice Agency, which also encompasses Community Services and the Juvenile Justice Centre for Northern Ireland. The Agency has a vision of having the lowest youth offending rates in the European Union by 2011.
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