Youth Offending Caseworker
As a teen Laura Hawksley was traumatised when a friend burgled her dad’s home. But rather than get mad, she got even – by choosing a career in criminal justice so that she could understand why.
Since 2004 Laura’s been working with teenagers referred to the Cambridgeshire Youth Offending Service (YOS).
For most, it’s their last chance before being sent to prison. Many have dropped out of school, never worked and have no structure in their lives. Suddenly they’re thrust into an intensive programme in which they’re expected to turn up to meetings twice a day and spend 25 hours a week in structured activities.
“It’s a complete shock to their system,” Laura says.
Seeing teens who’ve hit rock bottom making positive changes and realising they have choices in life is incredibly rewarding. Even baby steps can make a huge difference, the YOS caseworker says.
“You might have someone going back to school and fighting less with their mum. As far as I’m concerned that’s success.”
Working with teenagers
The psychology graduate had a personal reason for choosing to go into a career where she would be working directly with at risk youth.
“As a teenager one of my friends burgled my dad’s house. I wanted to understand why. It was horrible at the time. That moved me from wanting to go into law to wanting to go into criminal justice.”
After completing a psychology degree at University College London, Laura took up a role as a residential social worker at a children’s home, working mainly with sex offenders.
Eighteen months later, in 1999, she joined Her Majesty’s Prison Service as a trainee forensic psychologist, while studying a criminological psychology Masters degree part-time. She became a treatment manager for the prison’s enhanced thinking skills programme, a rehabilitative scheme teaching adult inmates to look at consequences of offending.
In 2002 Laura took time out to reconsider her career. She knew she wanted to return to working with young offenders – so was delighted when later that year, she was offered a job at Cambridgeshire YOS.
A last chance
Part of Laura’s role is working with young offenders on YOS’s Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme (ISSP), a groundbreaking rehabilitation scheme. Many of its clients have been ordered to attend the programme as a six-month condition of their community sentences.
Laura says: “It’s either last stop before prison or part of their license on release. It’s mainly persistent offenders or young people who have committed very serious offences. We work with kids on bail as well.”
Crimes include burglary, joyriding and committing grievous bodily harm. While a minority of young offenders see being sent to prison as a “badge of honour”, the majority are terrified of being locked up for the first time, Laura says.
“People hear ‘this is your last chance’ a lot of times and they stop believing it. Suddenly they’re actually facing prison and it’s a real wake-up call.”
Groundbreaking work
Cambridgeshire was the first Youth Offending Service in England to use Multi Systemic Therapy (MST) with the Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme (ISSP), an innovative approach to working with teenagers, first developed in America.
The ISSP team, one of the finalists in the Cambridgeshire Justice Awards 2007, are now sharing their skills and experiences with others in the Criminal Justice System. They’re also helping the Department of Health develop the successful MST programme for a national pilot.
Under the scheme, offenders aged between 12 and 18 are involved in 25 hours of constructive activity per week for the first three months. They have to attend up to two meetings per day and behave appropriately, Laura says.
“We don’t tolerate aggressive behaviour.”
Staff work one-to-one with young offenders, who also take part in activities and sessions to reduce offending and anti-social behaviour.
“We do a lot of work on their positives, helping them set goals for themselves.”
The programme is getting teens back into education and helping them find work.
Community commitment
Laura has also worked for YOS’s family-oriented Multi Systemic Therapy (MST) programme, dealing with four families in a three to six-month period. She saw each family at least three times a week and worked with parents to improve teens’ home lives.
Young offenders often struggle to make a fresh start without help from those around them so the MST team aims to involve influential adults in their lives.
Laura says: “By working with the parents, with the school, with the community and employers, by making changes in those areas, the kid has to change. If you can reduce shouting at home, then home’s a nicer place to be. The pull of being out on the street may not be as strong.”
The programme aims to put parents in control, set clear boundaries and teach young offenders about consequences. Financial hardship is often a factor leading to offending, so the MST team assists families in seeking help from relevant services.
“We give these families support with housing and try to show them how to sort their debt out.”
YOS aims to protect the public and reduce re-offending by empowering troubled families and getting them back on track.
Reasons for offending
Poor housing, bereavement, broken homes and a lack of parenting skills are common factors associated with offending.
Laura says: “A lot of it is kids being out unmonitored, unsupervised. They then have access to drinks and drugs.”
Youth crime is also linked to a lack of educational opportunities, Laura says.
“If Mum hasn’t had the ability to fight for schooling, it compounds the problem. Often a kid’s life story explains how they’ve got to where they’ve got to but it doesn’t ever excuse it.”
Some of the teens have survived horrific and traumatic experiences in their past.
Laura says: “My job makes me feel incredibly lucky. I can go home to my nice house with my great partner at the end of the evening and don’t have bailiffs knocking at my door.”
Are you up to the challenge?
Her job may be challenging and sometimes stressful – but Laura loves every minute.
“I really enjoy young people. Their strength and ability to survive is quite amazing. You have to be very honest with them. You also have to know when to shut up.”
She says it’s futile trying too hard to be “cool” when engaging with teens.
“I’m a white, middle class woman in her thirties. My life often has very little in common with them. I think that’s a good thing because you can swap experiences.”
Keeping emotionally detached can be difficult at times.
“You do worry about the kids you work with and their families. You have to have a cut-off.”
Anyone considering working with young offenders should be enthusiastic, committed and have a sense of humour, Laura says.
“You need to be able to plan and think on your feet. You’ve got to be able to listen and be able to challenge people in a way that doesn’t alienate them.”
Oh – and one more thing.
“You’ve got to like young people.”