Government Launches National Digital Space to Join Up Youth Justice and Policing

A new national digital platform designed to connect youth justice workers and police officers across England and Wales has officially launched, with the government arguing that faster sharing of evidence and best practice is essential to reducing offending and reoffending by children. The platform, called Basecamp Diversion and Youth Justice Policing, went live on 8 May 2026 and was created by the Youth Justice Board (YJB) in partnership with the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC), with development support from the Youth Endowment Fund and the Centre for Justice Innovation.

The announcement frames the initiative as a response to a long standing structural problem in the youth justice system: police and youth justice services have historically operated in separate silos, limiting how quickly frontline workers can share information about what works, respond to emerging patterns of youth offending, or coordinate on diversion programmes that keep children out of the formal justice system. Basecamp is intended to change that by providing a single, secure, permission based space where professionals from both sectors can communicate in real time.

What Is Basecamp and What Does It Actually Offer?

Basecamp is not a public forum or a government website. It is a closed, professional collaboration space similar in principle to tools used in other sectors to share internal knowledge but built specifically for youth justice practitioners and police. Access is tightly controlled, colleagues must submit a request to the YJB and demonstrate they hold a legitimate operational role before receiving an invitation to join.

What Professionals Can Do on the Platform

Once inside, the platform is designed to support day to day professional practice in a number of ways:

• Post questions and discussion topics: Frontline workers can raise practical queries or flag emerging issues for comment from colleagues across different areas of England and Wales.
• Share local resources: Youth justice services can upload templates, tools, and examples of practice from their own area so that other services can adapt and use them.
• Access national guidance: The platform will host current YJB and NPCC guidance, training materials, and thematic outputs in one place rather than scattered across different websites.
• Network across areas: Officers and youth justice workers from different regions can connect directly, supporting coordination on issues that cross local authority or police force boundaries.
• Contribute to live threads: Users can engage with ongoing conversations rather than waiting for the next conference or training event to discuss sector wide challenges.

What the Platform Will Not Include

The YJB has been explicit about the boundaries governing what can and cannot be shared within the platform:

Why Has This Been Created Now?

The launch reflects a broader recognition within government and the youth justice sector that the relationship between policing and youth justice services though often strong at a local level has lacked a consistent national infrastructure for sharing learning. Youth justice in England and Wales sits across multiple agencies: local authority youth offending teams, police forces, courts, the probation service, and the voluntary sector. Each operates under different governance structures, making coordinated practice difficult to sustain at scale.

The Case for Joined Up Working

The arguments made by the YJB and NPCC for the platform centre on several practical gaps the sector has consistently identified:

What the Sector Leaders Said

Stephanie Roberts-Bibby, Chief Executive of the Youth Justice Board, said the platform built on what the YJB had already been doing to share evidence of what works, describing collaboration as central to the organisation's model:

"We know that the strongest outcomes for children come from systems that work together at the YJB we refer to this as 'the power of the partnership'. This collaboration space builds on what we have already been doing to share the evidence of what works and takes it one step further; creating a dedicated place where professionals across youth justice can connect, challenge and learn from one another in real time."

Chief Constable Catherine Roper, the NPCC lead for Children and Young Persons, said she regarded all children who came into contact with the criminal justice system as victims, including those suspected of committing offences:

"I believe all children should have the opportunity to fulfil their potential, without their lives being blighted by crime. Any child who is touched by criminality is a victim, even if they are suspected of committing an offence themselves, and through partnership working and collective continued improvement, we can ensure we are doing everything we can to keep our young people safe."

Who Is Backing the Platform and What Does That Mean?

The involvement of the Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) and the Centre for Justice Innovation (CJI) alongside the YJB and NPCC gives the platform a level of cross sector credibility that purely government sponsored initiatives do not always achieve. Both organisations are well regarded within the youth justice and violence reduction sectors for their focus on evidence based approaches.

The Organisations Involved

Conclusion: A Tool That Connects, With Outcomes Still to Be Proven

Basecamp Diversion and Youth Justice Policing is a modest but practically meaningful development in how the youth justice sector organises itself. A secure national space where police and youth justice professionals can share evidence, ask questions, and coordinate without waiting for formal meetings or training events fills a genuine gap.

The platform does not, in itself, deliver better outcomes for children. Its value depends entirely on whether practitioners actually use it, whether the evidence shared translates into changed practice on the ground, and whether the organisations involved sustain their commitment to moderating and developing the space over time. The YJB's track record on knowledge sharing is reasonable, and the involvement of the YEF and CJI gives the initiative a stronger evidence base than many comparable government backed communication tools.

For anyone working in youth justice, policing, or violence reduction, the practical first step is straightforward, if you have a legitimate operational role and want access, email the YJB at the address listed in the sources below. The broader test, whether a platform like this can measurably accelerate diversion and reduce the number of children drawn into the formal justice system, will take considerably longer to answer.