Kent Youth Justice Service

Kent Youth Justice is a statutory service that works with children aged 10 – 17 years who have come into contact with the criminal justice system and who are subject to either Court or out of Court decisions.

Kent Youth Justice and Adolescent Early Help teams are responsible for assessing children, when referred by Police or Courts. They use AssetPlus or the Prevention and Diversion Assessment Tool to understand the child’s individual needs, strengths and risks, within the context of their families and networks. We take a child-first approach, prioritising children’s rights, safety, wellbeing and potential to build on their individual strengths and support them to achieve positive outcomes.

The role of the service is to prevent offending and re-offending and to do so by meeting the child’s safety, well-being and desistance needs, while managing risk of harm the child may present to others.

A responsibility to victims of youth crime

Kent Youth Justice Service includes a dedicated Victim Voice Team who contact all victims of youth crime when the crime has taken place in Kent and the child who committed the crime also lives in Kent. This provides victims an optional service to access support and share their thoughts, wishes and feelings, as well as the impact the crime has had on their lives. This informs the interventions with the child who has caused harm.

You can contact the Victim Voice Team via this email: yjvictimvoice@kent.gov.uk

Contact details

For general queries please email yjcentral@kent.gov.uk

If you would like to know more information about how we support children and the different types of outcomes they may receive, please visit: www.kent.gov.uk/youthjustice