Big Brother Big Sister and Garda youth diversion projects: perspectives on youth mentoring as a preventative intervention

Current policy emphasises the need for community involvement and inter-agency co-operation in youth crime prevention, as well as approaches that seek to strengthen the protective factors in young people’s lives, thus protecting them from crime. Mentoring interventions which are targeted at young people who are involved in the youth justice system are increasingly being recognised as a valuable preventative tool in the area of youth offending. Foróige, through collaboration with the Irish Youth Justice Service has adapted the Big Brothers Big Sisters youth mentoring programme for the youth justice context in Ireland in a programme known as BBBS-GYDP.