Northern Ireland Youth Conferencing Service
The Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002 defines the principal aim of the youth justice system ‘to protect the public by preventing offending’. It provides the authority for restorative models and for the establishment of the Youth Conference Service, located in the Youth Justice Agency. The Youth Conference Service is empowered by statute to facilitate restorative justice conferences between children and young people aged from 10 until their 18th birthday who offend and their victims. These Conferences are arranged either at the request of the Public Prosecutor, known as Diversionary Youth Conferences, or the Court and these are known as Court-ordered Youth Conferences. Since 2003 the Youth Conference Service has had consistently high victim participation rates (Over 60%), with 91% victim satisfaction rates, and has substantially reduced the use of custody for young people in Northern Ireland.

The Prison Reform Trust report "Making Amends" gives a comprehensive review of the Youth Conferencing Service in Northern Ireland.

Media coverage of the PRT report is available here.