User Voice - Only Offenders Can Stop Re-Offending

Leeds Pathfinder Event

On the 17th of October User Voice staff, volunteers and young people attended the Leeds Pathfinder event. The event aimed to share the progress made on reducing the use of custody in West Yorkshire.

Young people presented to senior policy makers and local management from Bradford, Wakefield, Leeds, Kirklees and Calderdale YOTs as well as the West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner, the Chief Executive of the Youth Justice Board, staff from Sheffield Hallam University and representative from West Yorkshire Police. Altogether the event was a fantastic opportunity for young people to discuss the following areas with the people making decisions about them:
  1. Young people’s experience of custody      
  2. If community sentences are used instead of custody, what things need to be in place to help young people to complete orders successfully, attend well and not breach?
It was extremely encouraging to see such enthusiasm and passion for service user engagement and the feedback was very positive
“I commend the work that [User Voice] delivers. The young people were confident and passionate and I felt honoured to be a part of it. It is through your work that educational and vocational opportunities that are real, can be provided”