What we do

The combination of experts, activities, and support programmes that one child needs will be different to other children.

Early intervention (diversion)

Sometimes, the Suffolk Youth Justice Service works with children and young people when they haven’t offended. This might be because there is a reason to believe that they are at risk of offending in the future. This intervention work is called diversion.

Additionally, if a child commits an offence for the first time, or the offence is less serious, the police might decide not to give the young person an outcome at this time. They will then refer the child to our diversion programme to give them access to additional support to stop further offending.

Out of court

If a child has already been involved in the diversion programme and continues to offend the police may decide that an out of court solution is best both for the child and for everyone else involved.

Court outcome

If the child commits a more serious offence, or if they have committed several offences before, the police may decide to prosecute in court. In most cases the child will be heard at a Youth Court (in Ipswich or Great Yarmouth), where they might be sentenced to a youth disposal.

Our goal is to make sure the right plan of action is put in place to help the child to stop offending (desist) and make them better equipped to achieve a future free of crime. One part of this plan is likely to be some form of restorative justice. This means the child is supported to work with or for those affected by crime; both to be able to “give something back” and to understand how being a victim of crime can affect someone’s life.