Teamtempest Youth Offending Team is a multi-agency partnership based in Filton. The YOT is part of the wider Community Safety Partnership and works closely with Community Safety and the Drug Action Team. The role of the Team is to assist in preventing offending by children and young people. We achieve this is by working together with young people and their parents or carers, the victims of crime and other agencies or organisations including the local community. The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 required all Local Authorities to establish a Youth Offending Team or “YOT”, in their Council area. Each YOT had to include police officers, social workers, probation officers as well as staff from Health and Education.
The Team at Teamtempest is made up of trained professionals with specific roles working together in one office to tackle youth offending. The main areas of work for the Youth Offending Team are: To reduce the risk of further offending by young people and to help them to face up to the consequences of offending To work with and support victims To support young people who are bailed by the courts To prepare reports for the courts To supervise young people on court orders
To assist with arrangements for a young person remanded to Local Authority care by the courts To support young people during sentence and on release from custodial sentences To assist parents through voluntary support and through Parenting Orders To provide Appropriate Adult Services when a young person is being questioned by the police and a parent is unable to attend The Youth Justice Board (YJB) was established in September 1998 to oversee the introduction and performance of YOT’s.
The Youth Justice Board have set out National Standards for promoting high quality, effective work, with children, young people, their families and victims of crime. The local youth justice plan is produced annually and includes details of the nature and scale of offending by young people in the area. The YOT is funded by Partner agencies (the Local Authority, Community Safety, National Probation, Health, Police and the Youth Justice Board). If you find yourself in trouble with the police it is sometimes difficult to understand what will happen, there are lots of questions you or your family may have about what’s going to happen. The people at the Youth Offending Team (YOT) will help you understand what’s going on when things get very confusing.
If you are arrested and have admitted the offence a number of different things can happen. The police may give you a reprimand or a final warning, however if the crime you have committed is serious enough the police may decide that you should be charged. This means that you will have to appear in Court. The Court we use is in Yate, on Kennedy Way, opposite the shopping centre. There is always someone from the YOT on duty at the Court on Youth Court day (which is usually Tuesday) and you or your carers can come and have a chat if you wish. When you are arrested the police have to tell the YOT so we will be aware of your case. You will then be contacted by one of the team to arrange for them to visit you.
The person who contacts you will be able to explain things and answer any questions you may have. After a Final Warning or Court sentence has been given, you will be assessed to find out what work needs to be undertaken to help you stay out of difficulty in the future. After you have been assessed you will usually be expected to take part in a programme called an Intervention, to help you stop offending. There are different programmes available, the one that is best for you, will be agreed by you with the YOT.