Youth crime prevention programmes have different names and do different things, but they all involve activities to help keep young people away from crime. Young people can also learn new skills or get advice about school or jobs.
Some are run in groups while others are for just one young person supervised by an adult.
Two of the main prevention programmes are ‘youth inclusion programmes’ and ‘youth inclusion and support panels’, although there are many others.
Youth inclusion programmes
These are for 8 to 17 year-olds and usually last for set lengths of time, eg 6 months. Sometimes a young person can attend for longer if they need to, if they find the activities helpful.
Youth inclusion and support panels
These panels - made up of people like local youth or social workers - work with 8 to 13 year-olds to make sure they get access to local services that will help them stay out of trouble. These services could be things like getting extra help at school, or treatment for health or mental health problems.
Both these programmes use something called an ‘intervention plan’ that everyone must agree on, including the young person and their family. This plan describes what the young person is expected to do, as well as what support the young person will get.
Young people can also be mentored, and sometimes their families can also be involved.