Youth Justice Service

We work to national standards guidelines issued by the Youth Justice Board. 

We aim to: 

• make sure children who are accused of breaking the law get help quickly
• help children understand how their actions affect themselves, their families, their community, and the people they hurt
• give support and run programmes to help with problems in a child's life that put them at risk of offending, like school, health, or family issues
• Build on a child’s strengths and abilities, focusing on their future and what they want to achieve.
• work with the courts to make sure sentences are proportionate to the seriousness of the crimes committed
• encourage children to think about any harm caused and how best to make amends.
• work with parents to support children to move away from offending and reduce re-offending
• treat everyone fairly and equally within the context of our equal opportunities policies 

Our strategic approach to tackling youth crime 

We take a strategic approach to dealing with youth crime at a local level. We aim to identify where crimes are being committed, who’s committed them and who the victims are. 

To achieve our goal of making Royal Greenwich safer and full of opportunity for all young people, we’re targeting youth crime on 3 levels: 

• universal
• targeted
• specialist

Universal approach

We run safe and supervised activities all year round, both in and out of school. We design these together with young people in the borough. 

Targeted approach

We’ve designed direct diversion programmes for children most at risk of crime or who live in youth crime hotspots. 

Specialist approach 

We directly intervene in the lives of children who get into serious trouble with the law. 

Youth Justice Plan

Download our Youth Justice Service Strategic Plan 2025 to 2028: