Youth Justice Team (YJT)

The Pembrokeshire Youth Justice Team (YJT) consists of:

A Manager
Two Senior Practitioners
Case Managers
Seconded Police officer
Seconded Probation officer
Substance Misuse workers
Prevention Youth Workers
Victim Liaison Officer
Reparation Officer
Performance and Information Analyst
Pembrokeshire Youth Business Manager
Youth Justice Team Administrator

The Youth Justice Team work with all young people who are subject to Court Orders and out of court disposals. The young person will be required to attend regular meetings with their case manager and/or youth worker. Work will focus on their offending behaviour and the YJT worker will consider what support can be put in place to reduce the likelihood of the young person reoffending. Referrals to other agencies will be made where appropriate.

Youth Justice Team members of staff respond to the needs of young offenders in a comprehensive way. The Youth Justice Team assesses the needs of each young person, using a national assessment tool. This is to identify the specific reasons that make the young person offend, consider the strengths of the young person and measure the level of safety concerns for both the young person and others.

The Youth Justice Team provide intervention identified through this assessment process. Young people’s strengths/ diverse needs are identified and built on. Case managers will also prepare reports such as court, Referral Order Panel and out of court panel reports

The Youth Justice Team also provides intervention to prevent young people from potentially offending and from anti-social behaviours (ASB). A Prevention Assessment is completed to inform the intervention plan. This is following a prevention referral from concerned professionals or parents. This work is undertaken as a voluntary agreement between young person and their parent/carer.

YJT advocate Restorative justice and will seek to bring those harmed by crime or conflict and those responsible for the harm into communication, enabling everyone affected by a particular incident to play a part in repairing the harm and finding a positive way forward. This is part of a wider field called restorative practice and can involve both a proactive approach to preventing harm and conflict and activities that repair harm where conflicts have already arisen. In some cases a facilitated restorative meeting can be held. This enables individuals and groups to work together to improve their mutual understanding of an issue and jointly reach the best available solution. But in many cases a less formal approach, based on restorative principles, may be more appropriate.

Email youthadmin@pembrokeshire.gov.uk for more information.