Dorset Combined Youth Justice Service works with works with young people in the local youth justice system. Our purpose is to help those young people to make positive changes to their lifestyle, keep them safe and secure, and offer assistance and reparation to the victims.

This means we can support the national Youth Justice Board Vision for a ‘child first’ youth justice system:
A youth justice system that sees children as children, treats them fairly and helps them to build on their strengths so they can make a constructive contribution to society. This will prevent offending and create safer communities with fewer victims.

Who we are and what we do

Dorset Combined Youth Justice Service (DCYJS) is a statutory partnership between BCP Council, Dorset Council, Dorset Police, National Probation Service Dorset and NHS Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group.

We are a multi-disciplinary team which includes youth justice officers, restorative justice specialists, parenting workers, education and employment workers, police officers, probation officers, nurses, speech and language therapists and a psychologist.

The team works directly with young people who have committed criminal offences to help them make positive changes to their lifestyle, while providing security and safety to both them and their victims. We also work directly with parents and carers to help provide a positive support network.

We contact all victims of crimes committed by the young people we work with. We offer those victims the chance to take part in restorative justice processes, so we can help to repair the harm they have experienced.

The organisations in the YJS partnership also work together to improve the quality of our local youth justice system, and to ensure that young people can access the specialist support they need for their care, health, and education. The combination of work to improve our local youth justice and children’s services – along with our direct work with young people, parents and victims - enables us to meet our strategic objectives to:

• reduce the number of children in the youth justice system
• reduce reoffending by children in the youth justice system
• improve the safety and well-being of children in the youth justice system
• reduce and repair the harm caused to victims and the community from child offences
• improve outcomes for children in the youth justice system.

Contact details

Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole

Dorset Combined Youth Justice Service,
Ted Webster Centre,
519A Ashley Rd,
Poole,
BH14 0BD.

Call: 01202 794321.

Dorset Council

Dorset Combined Youth Justice Service,
Monkton Park,
Winterborne,
Monkton,
Dorchester,
Dorset,
DT2 9PS.

Call: 01202 794 321.

Email: DCYJS@bcpcouncil.gov.uk.