Immediate Justice: Supporting Young People After a First-Time Offence

By Chris English

Red Snapper Managed Services have recently been working via a pathway on an “Immediate Justice” initiative which specifically refers young people who are first-time offenders.

From this pathway, young people are referred into the Immediate Justice service and are supported in completing mandatory hours allocated to them in which they give back to the local community. The tasks typically done include litter picks, open space cleaning or volunteering.

We’ve taken practitioner experiences and feedback from the Immediate Justice scheme and highlighted some learning points, read below to find out more.

When a young person commits a first-time offence it can be a crossroads moment for them, the type of work and professionals involved can make the difference between a sharp turn towards non-offending behaviour or a slow decline into constant involvement in crime.

First and foremost, as a professional it is our duty to see the young person for who they are and not the offense that they have committed. Behind every offence lies a mixture of circumstances and reasonings such as peer pressure, social pressure, lack of emotional regulation, undiagnosed mental health difficulties or simply a difficulty in making the right choices.

Tip: If you are working with a young person and you are aware of an offence or incident that has occurred, when discussing what happened don’t jump straight into the consequences or ask direct questions. Try and make the conversation flow naturally, perhaps starting with, “What was going on for you that day?” or “How did you feel afterwards?”

Establishing trust early is a crucial key factor in achieving positive and impactful work with young people. Those who are involved with the police often face challenges with adult relationships, whether that is difficulty at home, in school or, in some circumstances, with their social worker.

Tip: When working with a young offender, from the outset be clear about your role and boundaries whilst being honest about why you’re working with them. Remember to make it clear you are working with them, you’re not there to spy on them or ‘catch them out’.

Pro-social modelling is a great tool for change when working with young people. For those who have children or have worked with young people previously, you will know it is often the case that directly telling them what is right and wrong isn’t the best way to go about enacting change. Frequently, it is up to the young person to take on information and create their own understandings from the experiences they have, just telling them, “You shouldn’t have done that” isn’t enough.

Tip: Whilst working with a young person, use the world around you and everyday conversation to weave learnings into your work, you will be surprised how much young people will learn from actions, rather than words. Additionally, don’t take pushback personally, use moments of resistance as opportunities rather than battles to be won.

Lastly, always make sure to engage families and support networks, keeping them up to date and in the loop with any work you do with the young person is critical. Focus on a strengths-based approach and actively praise the young person in front of their support network for any good work they do, this will reinforce good decision making and act as a starting point for future behaviour at home.

We hope that the above has provided some insights into working with young people, if you want to read more about Immediate Justice click here or here.