The Children and Young People’s Strategic Partnership oversees a number of Northern Ireland wide sub-groups established to take forward integrated planning on a Northern Ireland wide basis, including a Northern Ireland Sub-Group on Children and Young People and Offending.

Children and Young People and Offending is defined as:

Progress to date

The Children and young people offending subgroup have undertaken a mapping exercise of the journey of the young person through the criminal justice system once they have come to the attention of the police. This development will be a vital tool in the future planning and progression of the group’s work.

The map is divided into stages by the type of offending behaviour and each stage involves possible routes and outcomes for the young person. Each stage also includes the organisations involved with the young person, the relevant indicators and relevant data held by organisations. Significantly, the map highlights not only the young person’s journey into and through the criminal justice system but also their route out of the criminal justice system. This in turn allows the group to identify the appropriate supports and services that may prevent young people from re-offending and, instead integrate them back into society.

The purpose of the map is not only to highlight the different stages, organisations involved and outcomes for the young person but also, significantly, to identify any gaps in service provision that the group can address in line with their action plan. The map provides a mechanism to help the group think conceptually about services and will be of immense benefit as the group continues to plan and develop their work in line with the action plan. Currently in the final stages of development, the map will be available from the CYPSP website, on this page, once complete.