The Preventing Youth Offending Project (PYOP) is a city council initiative and was set up in 1998. The police identified a number of juvenile offenders were committing some 70% of crime in the city. 

The project is funded and supported by the police, social services and other voluntary agencies.

Referral criteria:

Referring young people to the service can be done when:

• Those young people identified as being prolific offenders or whose offences are serious enough for them to be involved with the youth offending team (YOT)  
• Those young people aged between 8 - 16 years and require preventative input.
• Young people living in the heart of Portsmouth, Paulsgrove and Wymering.
• Young people requiring specialist input, i.e. keeping safe, risk and treatment packages for young people with sexually problematic behavior. 

Each young person referred is assessed and can be offered one or more of the many services provided by PYOP:

• One-to-one support on a weekly basis
• Education support in school
• Risk assessments and treatment programme for sexually problematic behaviour
• Anger management and counselling
• Family champions
• Youth Inclusion Support Portsea & Paulsgrove

The project promotes the young people we work with to access the after School workshops which include:

• Art group
• Cooking and Healthy Living
• Football (mixed & boys)
• Music and Technology
• Allotment scheme
• Young womens' group
• Outdoor Education & Activities

We also provide activities during school holidays for the siblings of the young person directly working with the project.  The project offers drop-in support groups for parents and dads on a weekly basis.

"Since the beginning of the evaluation in 1998 the impact of PYOP intervention with persistent young offenders has significantly reduced their criminogenic needs and risk of re-offending"
UNIVERSITY OF PORTSMOUTH EVALUATION REPORT.

For the Supervision Model structure of PYOP click here