To date, assessments of the prevalence of mental health problems in young offenders have largely focused on incarcerated samples. This paper describes a quantitative study of a sample of 47 male young offenders under the supervision of an inner city Youth Offending Team. A semi‐structured interview, modified from previous studies, was used to investigate the type and frequency of psychosocial and health problems they experienced. The results were compared with data from a random community sample of 38 male adolescents interviewed in a comparable way. Young offenders reported more psychosocial problems at a statistically significant level (including depression/misery, excessive worry and problematic substance use), as well as higher life‐time rates of head injury, than adolescents in the community sample. Levels of problematic substance use and exposure to head injury continued to differentiate the groups when offenders in custody were removed from the analyses. The findings are discussed in relation to previous research and implications for service delivery.

This article explores the views of young people regarding their involvement with a specialist mental health service for adolescents who offend or are at risk of offending. The main aims are to shed light on means of engaging this group in therapeutic work, and to illustrate the use of qualitative techniques in the evaluation of health services. Twenty clients and ex-clients were interviewed using a semistructured schedule. Responses were analysed using a thematic indexing technique. Findings show that the majority felt the service had helped them to some extent, despite initial resistance to referral. Five factors which helped practitioners overcome this resistance were identified: (1) A manner which demonstrates respect and commitment; (2) being able to operate flexibly and offer outreach appointments; (3) clinical effectiveness; (4) making therapeutic sessions seem personally relevant; and (5) explaining clearly the role of the service. Attention should be paid to these areas if mental health services are to support this challenging client group.

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