Youth offending team

A youth offending team (YOT) is a multi-agency team that is coordinated by a local authority in England and Wales, and overseen by the Youth Justice Board. It deals with young offenders, sets up community services and reparation plans, and attempts to prevent youth recidivism and incarceration. The term is not consistently used as these teams are often referred to as "youth offending services" or "youth justice services" depending on the local authority

Following the White Paper "No More Excuses", the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 was passed setting up YOTs and introducing a series of community-based interventions for the prevention and control of youth violence. The overall aim of the Act was to reduce the risk of young people offending and re-offending, and to provide counsel and rehabilitation to those who do offend. Youth offending teams engage in a wide variety of work with young offenders (those under 18) in order to achieve their aims. YOTs supervise young people who have been ordered by the court to serve sentences in the community or in the secure estate. Sometimes, teams organise meetings between offenders and victims to encourage apologies and reparation. These meetings are called restorative justice practices and may include family group conferences, victim-offender mediation or restorative justice circles

Youth offending teams also arrange for Appropriate Adults to accompany under 17s after their arrest in order to advise and support the young person, and observe that they are treated fairly. When a youth is arrested and unaccompanied by an adult (relation or friend who is 18 or over), the police often call the local YOT to request an appropriate adult to come to the relevant station.