Integrated Adolescent Service
If your child (10-17) has been arrested or has been charged with an offence, please contact us. We'll talk to you about how we can help, and can meet you to discuss the services on offer.
Young people and the law
The Government provides information for young people and parents about the youth justice system:
- What happens to me if my child gets in trouble with the police?
- What happens if a child under 10 breaks the law?
- Young people in custody
- Youth crime prevention programmes
- Youth offending teams
Organisations that can help you if you're a parent or carer
Local organisations
Cassell Centre, Forest Hill
- Website: casselassociates.org
- Tel: 020 8291 3436
Lewisham Contact a Family
- Website: contact.org.uk
- Tel: 020 7635 6333
A well established project working with over 500 families within the borough who have a child or children with disabilities or additional needs.
National organisations
Family Lives
- Website: familylives.org.uk
- Tel: 0808 800 2222
National helpline providing support, information and guidance to parents and carers.
Parents At Work
- Website: workingfamilies.org.uk
- Tel: 020 7628 2128
Helps parents balance work and family life and supports parents' employment rights.
Young Minds
- Website: youngminds.org.uk
- Tel: 020 7336 8445
Provides information to anyone with concerns about the mental or emotional wellbeing of a child or young person.
Women’s Aid
- Website: womansaid.org.uk
- Tel: 0808 2000 247
- Email: helpline@womensaid.org.uk
Freephone 24-hour national domestic violence helpline run in partnership between Women's Aid and Refuge.
Parent Support Group
- Website: gdva.org.uk
- Tel: 020 8469 0205
One-to-one and group support work with parents of adolescents.
If you're the victim of youth offending
If you have been a victim of an offence committed by a young person and the young person has received a court order our victim liaison officer will contact you.
We will tell you about the court process and what sentencing options will be available to the court. If the young person has already been sentenced, we can tell you about the requirements of that order are for the young person.
The victim liaison officer can act as an intermediary if:
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you would like to make a statement about how the offence has affected you and your family
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you have questions that you would like the young person to answer
If you do not want the young person to know that the questions have come from you, we can do this anonymously.
If the young person receives a custodial sentence and you have concerns about what may happen when they are released, we will talk through these concerns with you and we may be able to recommend conditions to be put on their release licences that will address those concerns:
Meeting the young offender
If you want to, you may be able to meet the young person who committed the offence. This can happen in one of two ways:
Referral orders
When a young person is sentenced to a referral order they must attend a panel run by trained community volunteers. The volunteers will negotiate an agreement with the young person and their parents or carer outlining what they'll have to do over the course of the order.
As the victim you have a right to attend and influence the agreement. The panels are held at the Youth Justice Service and are usually in the early evening.
As part of the meeting you may be asked if the young person can do anything for you to help repair the harm they caused. This may be direct work for you or we have a list of community projects that the young people can do instead.
Restorative meetings
These meetings are held when people affected by an offence choose to meet the young offender (and their parents / carers) to talk about what has happened, how it has affected everyone and what needs to happen next to help put things right: