News
Youth Conference Service officially launches in Antrim (15/01/2007)
The future of youth justice in Antrim has changed as the Youth Conference Service, part of the Youth Justice Agency, officially launches in the area.From 4 December, the Youth Courts and the Public Prosecution Service in Antrim have been empowered to make referrals to the Youth Conference Service as a means of disposal.
The Youth Conference Service organises and facilitates conferences between victims of youth crime and young offenders aged between 10 and 18, to help the offender make amends to their victim for the harm caused.
Speaking about the launch of the service, Aideen McLaughlin, Assistant Director, Youth Conference Service said; “With four Youth Conference Co-ordinators working across the area we are keen to increase participation by members of the local community who are willing to share their views on how crime affects the area and can offer effective solutions to help prevent it.
“We have already delivered awareness raising sessions to the local Police, providing officers with information on what we do and how we work restoratively with young people and victims. We will continue to make direct links with the Community Safety Partnership, the District Policing Partnership and the business sector and local community and voluntary organisations to raise the awareness of the work of the Youth Conference Service and to source possible opportunities for reparation in the local area,” she continued.
Youth Conferences allow both the young person and victim to come together to discuss the full 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 caused. The conferences also explore what steps need to be taken to stop the young person from re-offending in the future.
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 more involved in the decision-making process.
“This is in no way 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 real redress is 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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