Members of Leicestershire’s Youth Commission discussed the importance of support when helping young offenders to turn their lives around at this year’s Youth Justice Convention.
In front of youth justice professionals and supported by the Youth Offending Service, they showcased a video and delivered workshops which emphasised the importance of supporting and effectively communicating with young offenders to help them break the offending cycle.
Hosted by the Youth Justice Board, the Youth Justice Convention was this year held at the King Power Stadium. It has been running for 15 years and this year saw more than 1,200 people working in the youth criminal justice system attend.
Leicestershire’s Youth Commission, made up of 14-25 year olds, was set up by Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Sir Clive Loader, who also attended the convention. Its purpose is to support, challenge and inform the work of the PCC and Leicestershire Police.
17-year-old Youth Commission member Brogan Fodzuk said: “It was an experience that I will never forget. Knowing that I as a young person was given the chance to influence professionals who are able to make positive changes is amazing.”
Members of the Young Adults Project (YAP) and the EngAge Team have also been involved in one of the event sessions – helping to deliver a presentation that included previous young offenders explaining their own experiences of the criminal justice system and the process they went through to stop offender behaviour.
The team works to ensure that young adult offenders comply with their Conditional Cautions and receive the interventions they need to avoid future offending.
EngAge Team leader Louise Cassie said: “We really enjoyed delivering the presentation and workshop. Helping to raise awareness of how important it is to meet the needs of offenders going through the transition process.”
Sir Clive Loader added: “It was great to see both professionals and young people come together to discuss and debate youth justice policy and general youth related matters.
“Young people are our next generation so events like this provide a valuable opportunity for the Youth Commission and YAP to make an impact. It was great to see how we are working together to improve the lives of young people – it makes my role as Police and Crime Commissioner even more worthwhile.”
Posted on Monday 9th May 2016