What We Do

The local teams are made up of workers from the Police, Probation, Health, Education and Social Services, working together with their Communities to ensure that:

• The needs of victims are met.
• Young people take responsibility for their criminal behaviour and put something back into their Community
• Parents who take responsibility for their children
• Opportunities exist to prevent youth crime
• Young people achieve their potential
• Justice is delivered swiftly
• Punishment reflects the seriousness of the crime committed

The Lancs YOT works with young people from the age of 10 - 17 who have either become involved in offending or are at risk of offending. This may mean the YOT working with schools, the police or voluntary agencies to help prevent a young person getting into trouble or closer involvement when a young person actually commits an offence.

The YOT will be involved if someone receives a warning from the police, when they are on bail, when they go to court and then when they are sentenced either to a community penalty or to custody.

As well as working with young people, the YOT works with communities. It is important that communities know and understand what the YOT does and also know that they can help us to improve what we do to create safer and better places to live.

Throughout all the work of the YOT, victims are of primary importance. At every step of the way victims are considered and at significant points invited to be party to the criminal justice process. This may be just about sharing of information or they may decide to be more involved and actually meet with a young offender for an apology. Whatever the involvement we make every effort to deal with victims sensitively and professionally.