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   Help cut Salford youth offending
If you're interested in helping to change the behaviour of young offenders in Salford, this opportunity is for you. You can volunteer for a new youth offending panel which deals with young people who commit crime in Salford. What is a Youth Offender Panel? Local people take the lead in challenging young offenders to take responsibility for their actions and helping them to change their behaviour. A young person is referred to the panel by the courts through a sentence called a Referral Order which is given to 10-17 year olds who plead guilty to a first conviction. A Referral Order can be given for three to twelve months, depending on the seriousness of the crime. What do youth offender panel members do? The panel meets with the young person and their parents/carers to talk about the reasons for the young person’s offending behaviour and to discuss a way forward. The victim is encouraged to attend the meeting to tell the young person how the crime has affected them. A contract is agreed with the young person this contract includes activities to repair the harm caused and address the causes of their behaviour. Who can volunteer? Volunteers need to be 18 or over and live or work or study within the Salford area. We want to hear from men and women from all ethnic and social backgrounds who represent the local community. How much of my time will it take? You will be expected to attend panel on a rota basis, about once a month. Panels are usually held on a Wednesday evening from 5pm to 8pm. Due to the considerable time and cost of training panel members we will expect you to commit being on the panel rota for minimum of 1 year. Will I be trained? We don’t expect people to have all the skills necessary to be a youth offender panel member. We will offer full training which will help you to prepare for a challenging but worthwhile task. Once you become a panel member you will be expected to attend regular training and also supervision to support you in your role. To apply call Amy Williams at the Salford Youth Offending Service, St Simon St, Salford on 0161 607 1900 or email amy.willimas@salford.gov.uk. Due to problems with spam only SalfordOnline members can now leave comments. Becoming a member of SalfordOnline only takes a minute, just hit the red Join Us button at the top right hand side of the page to create your Personal account. Got a news story? Need help with publicity for an event in Salford? Send it to newsdesk@salfordonline.com or call the SalfordOnline newsdesk on 0161 789 5377. |
