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The work of youth offending teams, including the use of youth inclusion programmes (YIPs) is, in the words of the Youth Justice Board, helping to show that: “children’s attitudes towards wrongdoing, their family circumstances, their relationship with school and the influence of their peers are all critical factors in determining the path they choose”.1
YIPs cover a range of preventive measures. Team sports, debating societies and creative classes teach young people the value of working together, listening, co-operating with others and building self-esteem. Early experience of YIPs indicates that when young people are occupied constructively, crime rates plummet.

However, it is also crucial to listen to young people about what they think services should look like. Consequently we designed a questionnaire for 80 young offenders and 80 non-offenders.
To eliminate selection bias as much as possible we decided to target the next 80 young offenders with which two of the staff had contact. Similarly, we used the questionnaire with 80 youngsters attending nearby youth facilities and a school club (eliminating any known offenders). Both groups were fairly well matched by age, sex and ethnicity. There were, however, a slightly higher proportion of non-offending younger males than of offending males: this partly reflects the way in which they were accessed, and may also suggest an increasing contact for males with the criminal justice system as they get older.
As those consulted were not anonymous it is possible that some respondents might have either played up or down
the true extent of their problems or behaviour.
We found that a large proportion of offenders were excluded from school or did not attend regularly. This contrasted strongly with the non-offending groups, all of whom either attended school, were in training, or were working. These offenders can be difficult to reach, and efforts to include them in out of school activities or social events might prove impossible. There was also a stark contrast between offenders and non-offenders regarding sporting activities and team sports. There was a lack of motivation among offenders in these activities. This sits alongside their lack of social contact: it is difficult to establish if the categories of sporting pastimes, team sports and motivation are linked, although the information would strongly suggest a lack of motivation for those respondents not engaging positively with their peer group within the community. The motivation and aspirations of youngsters within the offending groups decreased with age, but continued to feature strongly within the non-offending groups.

Male offenders recognised difficulties around money, employment prospects, drug and alcohol use, physical health and mental health. But female offenders emphasised concerns about mental health and housing options. Child care featured strongly. But there was also more risk-taking behaviour; this included a greater use of drugs and alcohol, non-attendance at school, a lower incidence of physical activity, and sexual activity. At the same time many recognised a need to uphold the law, and expressed concern at not feeling safe in the community.
Some linked these problems to drug culture; others stressed a need to provide safe surroundings where young people could meet without fear of persecution from others. If this is linked to the lack of sporting opportunities that are available to this section of the community, it suggests that reducing the inequity in accessing facilities for recreation may well also provide the means to improve the motivation for these young people.
Similarly, the finding that motivation decreases with increasing age suggests that providing services for those aged 12-15 may help to foster change. Young people who are able to develop in an enabling environment might be less tempted into antisocial behaviour. They might then be more likely to sustain links with school and then be better able to access training or employment in the future.
The study reinforces the view that young offenders’ teams and other service providers should focus on preventive opportunities with young people.
• Brian Hall, is a health adviser at the youth offending service in Hartlepool Primary Care Trust. Deborah Hall is a health visitor