Youth Justice Service Team Panels

Getting Local People involved in tackling Youth Crime

Local people sitting on the youth offender panels will work with young offenders, their families and the victims of crime to help put right the harm and prevent future offending.

Tameside Youth Offending Team are currently recruiting volunteers from Tameside to sit on these youth offender panels, which are a key element of the Government's strategy to prevent offending young people.

We are looking for Men and Women of any age (18 and over) and from every ethnic and social background to help tackle youth crime in our community. Potential youth offender panel members will be given full training to prepare them for this challenging but rewarding role.

We thank you for your interest in applying to become a youth offender panel member. Please read the Youth Offenders - Frequently Asked Questions page and fill in the Youth Offending Team online application form.

If you are successful at this stage, you will be invited to attend an interview. It is anticipated the interviews will; take place in early January 2002. After that you may be asked to attend an introductory training day where you will have an opportunity to find out more about the role of a panel member before committing yourself to the pre-service training which lasts 6 sessions over 6 weeks. All panels member must successfully complete this pre-service training before they sit on a youth offender panel. As a panel member we would expect you to spend about 2-3 hours per week on youth offender panel work approximately 40 weeks per year.

Representation

It is important that youth offender panel members are representative of the communities that they serve. We want panel members of all ages, from every ethnic and social background, and we aim to provide equal opportunities regardless of age, ethnic, or racial origin, gender, sexual orientation, social background, religion, disability or occupation. Those questions on the form are designed for us to ensure that we are achieving this aim and will not affect your chances of becoming a panel member.

Offending history

Being a youth offender panel member involves working with children and for that reason we are required to carry out a full criminal record check which includes convictions which are spent under the Rehabilitation of Offender Act 1974. Previous convictions, especially those which are minor in nature or old, will not automatically bar you from becoming a youth offender panel member. This is something we can discuss with you at interview.

The information that you provide in your application form will be treated in the strictest confidence.

Application Form