NEW research from University of Limerick (UL) has identified how effective, trust-based relationships between youth justice practitioners and young people can play a significant role in supporting positive change and reducing offending behaviour.
The study, led by the Research Evidence into Policy, Programmes, and Practice (REPPP) team in the School of Law at UL, examined how relationships are built and how they make a difference within Ireland’s Youth Diversion Projects (YDPs).
The research found that effective professional relationships support key outcomes for young people that are closely linked to positive behavioural change, including greater trust in adults and services, improved ability to cope with challenges, and increased confidence and self-worth.
Dr Seán Redmond, adjunct professor of Youth Justice and Director of REPPP at UL, said these outcomes are central to helping young people move away from offending and engage more positively with education, services, and their communities.
“Relationships cannot change the world or the structural inequalities that many of our young people face, but they are agile, endlessly flexible and resilient to knocks and shocks,” he said.
“They can help young people negotiate adversities, seize and sustain new opportunities, and get exposed to new affirming networks – and in this way are potentially transformational.
“Our evidence supports continued investment in, and further development of, relationship building to help change young people’s offending behaviour in Ireland.”
The findings have been published in a new University of Limerick report, Better Together: Developing Relational Practice to Effect Change in Young People’s Offending Behaviour, and have directly informed the development of national guidance for Youth Diversion Projects.
The REPPP Action Research Project aimed to close the knowledge gap, and develop practical, implementable guidance for practitioners and support the policy of intervening to divert young people from crime.
The three-year project worked with 16 YDPs across Ireland, involving 60 youth justice practitioners, managers, and GardaÃ, and 27 young people who shared their experiences of working with youth justice services.
REPPP will be supporting the scale out and implementation of the guidance across the YDP network by offering a series of supports including webinars, events, and a six-part podcast launching in the coming months.
The podcast series will be hosted by James Leonard from the acclaimed The Two Norries podcast, who overcame addiction and imprisonment to become a youth and community worker.