Integrated inspection of youth offending teams (YOT)

Youth offending teams incorporate representatives from a wide range of services allowing them to respond to the needs of young offenders in a comprehensive way and to reduce or prevent further offending.

The Healthcare Commission has a statutory duty under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and the Children Act 2004 to cooperate in the inspection of youth offending teams.

Led by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation (HMIP), all 155 youth offending teams in England and Wales are being jointly inspected with participation from the following eight inspectorates:

• Healthcare Commission
• Audit Commission
• Commission for Social Care Inspection
• Estyn (HM Inspectorate of Education and Training in Wales)
• HM Inspectorate of Constabulary
• HM Inspectorate of Prisons
• Office for Standards in Education
• Social Services Inspectorate for Wales

The inspections are being carried out over a six-year period. To ensure that the methodology retains its relevance and continues to consider local and national concerns, the inspection programme has had three phases:
 
1. September 2003 - July 2004
Inspections concentrated on key issues, with emphasis placed on establishing benchmarks and the dissemination of good practice. Youth offending teams were asked to volunteer for this stage of the process.

2. Up to September 2006
Inspections were individually tailored to each youth offending team, based on an examination of the data available and the findings from other inspection programmes.

3. September 2006 - September 2007
The inspections are now focusing on achievement against targets met, particularly on increasing overall performance and ensuring consistency of practice.

Read the inspection reports on the youth offending team (Opens new window)

The role of healthcare organisations within youth offending teams

Children and young people who offend usually have more health needs than those who do not. Indeed, nearly every young person who comes into contact with youth offending services has some form of health need, whether this relates to physical health, emotional health or substance misuse. Healthcare organisations are required to contribute to services for youth justice in their area in an effort to meet these needs and to minimise the extent to which these issues may be contributing to offending behaviour.

"Let’s talk about it – A review of healthcare in the community for young people who offend", was published by the Healthcare Commission and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation in October 2006. The joint review was based on the findings from 50 inspections in England and Wales conducted between September 2003 and April 2006. It looked at the role and input made by healthcare organisations in youth offending teams and made recommendations to a number of agencies.

Read the report: Let's talk about it (pdf 802kb) (opens new window)

Click here to access the press release for the report

The most recent annual report on the Joint Inspection of Youth Offending Teams (2006/2007) published in September 2007 by HMIP, indicates that too little progress has been made since the previous review. One third of young offenders are still not having their identified needs met. Assessment and intervention in relation to physical health needs is under-developed, although substance misuse services have improved. Communication between health workers and YOT staff and between the YOT and external health agencies remain problematic. A quarter of health services are not resourcing YOTs sufficiently, and a significant number still have no clear protocols or service level agreements developed. Strategic participation by health on YOT management boards has improved and health priorities are much more likely to be reflected in wider plans for children’s services, but this is still inconsistent.

Joint Inspection of Youth Offending Teams: Annual Report 2006/2007 (PDF 595kb) (opens new window)

Back to top