Wokingham

Wokingham Young people at risk of committing offences will now receive local support, following Wokingham District Council’s decision to set up its own youth offending service (YOS). The local service will be supported by a range of external agencies, including the police, probation service, health and the Connexions Service. In addition, locally-based teams within the council’s community safety team and children’s services will contribute to this work.

Previously run as a joint service with Reading Borough Council, the new youth offending service will operate at a local level and intends to bring several benefits to the local Wokingham community and its young people.

Elaine Morgan, Wokingham youth offending service manager, said: “The new service presents the district with an ideal opportunity to develop a resource that meets the needs of the district’s young people. Our primary objective is to prevent children and young people from becoming involved in crime and reduce re-offending. By taking a co-ordinated approach to youth crime, the Wokingham YOS together with our partner agencies will be in a stronger position to identify those children and young people known to be most at risk of offending. The focus of the work will be to engage with young people, their families and carers to take part with more positive activities.”

The voluntary sector will be a significant contributor to this work, especially in supporting reparation activities within the local community. Reparation is an important part of the criminal justice process, as it requires young people to think about the impact of their actions, their families and the wider community.

Wokingham YOS is also involved in making an ‘Invest To Save’ bid supported by the police and Social Enterprise Berkshire to set up its own social enterprise. If the bid is successful, this innovative team will help young people find work and in the long term enable them to set up their own businesses.

Elaine Morgan added: “Whilst there is emphasis on prevention and early intervention, the YOS has a clear responsibility to meet the needs of young people leaving custodial settings
and returning to the community. By working closely with the voluntary and statutory sector we aim to guide, support and rehabilitate these young people to enable them to make informed choices in their future.”

Cllr Frank Browne, executive member for Wokingham children’s services, said: “Bringing the service back within the Wokingham district allows us to take real ownership of the issues involved in both preventing young people offending in the first place and supporting those who have already offended, to make a positive contribution to their community.”

Wokingham District Council