Priority Youth Offender Project
Background
The introduction of Youth Conferencing across Northern Ireland marked a significant change in the face of youth justice here.
The Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002 made it, in most instances, mandatory for the Youth Court to order a Youth Conference upon finding of guilt and this method of dealing with youth crime soon became the main disposal.
Such change led to inter-agency discussions between the Youth Justice Agency (YJA) and the Probation Board for Northern Ireland (PBNI), in an attempt to improve our cooperation and provide a more cohesive and effective service to the courts and to the young people, their victims, their families and the communities in which they live.
Following a six month planning period the Priority Youth Offender Project (PYOP) became operational on 6 April 2009. The project will operate as a two year pilot scheme with an evalution at the end of this period.
Who are we?
The PYOP brings together staff from both the Youth Justice Agency (YJA) and Probation Board for Northern Ireland (PBNI) who work with young offenders who live in the Greater Belfast area and whose offending behaviour is either persistent or serious (or both).
The team is led by a Probation Manager and a Youth Justice Team leader.
Aims
The aims of the project are to:
- Enhance communication between PBNI and YJA
- Co-ordinate services and deliver effective supervision and action plans
- Reduce re-offending
- Reduce seriousness of offending
How will we achive this?
The project will provide:
- Intensive supervision and support to address offending lifestyles
- Circles of support and accountability
- Increased accountability to victims and communities harmed by offending
- Closer liaison and integration with youth custody
- Access to interventions to strengthen parental control and family relationships
- Increased opportunities for reparation to victims
- Rapid intervention when alleged incidents are reported by Police
- Immediate response to non-compliance and breach
- Closer partnerships with local communities, voluntary and statutory organisations.
Contact details
You can contact the PYOP team at:
PYOP, 41-43 Waring Street , Belfast BT1 2DY
Tel: 028 90 820800/01
For further information on PYOP please contact Yvonne Adair, Project Manager:
T. (028) 9082 0803 or email: yvonne.adair
