ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the involvement of the community in one selected practice of restorative justice, namely youth offender panels in England and Wales. The data collection was through interviews with the key stakeholders involved in the process of referral orders, as well as through observation of panel meetings, and the analysis of various related documents. Over a 16-month period beginning in February 2012, data were gathered in 12 areas in England and Wales. These areas are not claimed to be representative of all youth offending team (YOT)s in England and Wales, but were selected to incorporate a broad cross-section in terms of size, geographic distribution and character of the area. The assurances of confidentiality made to the YOTs and to all research participants mean that data are not attributed to specific YOTs, and that therefore comparison between them is precluded.
