AIM Assessments and Court Proceedings
Date: Monday 12th October 2026
Time: 2pm-4.30pm
Cost: £120 | £60 YJLC Members (contact [email protected] for your members' discount code or membership information).
This practical workshop will equip youth justice professionals with the knowledge and confidence to understand when and how an AIM Assessment can be used within criminal legal proceedings, and how its findings can support informed decision-making at court.
Drawing on our work with youth justice professionals, we recognise that practice varies across regions. There can be differences in when an AIM Assessment is undertaken — whether before or after charge or conviction — and in how its findings are presented to the court. For example, findings may be incorporated into a pre-sentence report (PSR), provided as a separate assessment, or not routinely shared with the court.
The workshop will explore these different approaches and consider how practitioners can communicate the purpose, content and value of an AIM Assessment clearly and effectively to lawyers, courts and other decision-makers.
We will also examine how AIM Assessment findings can be considered alongside Sentencing Council Guidelines and relevant Court of Appeal guidance, supporting practitioners to present assessment information in a clear, relevant and appropriately contextualised way.
Through practical discussion, case examples and consideration of different approaches, participants will develop a clearer understanding of how to use, interpret and communicate AIM Assessment findings effectively within the criminal legal process.
The workshop will cover:
- The AIM Assessment model and framework — what it is, its purpose, and how it should be used.
- AIM3 Assessments in court proceedings — including their use in pre-sentence reports (PSRs) and sentencing.
- AIM Assessments before conviction — including pre-charge engagement and out-of-court resolutions (OoCR).
- The Child Sentencing Guidelines, including their application to sexual offences.
- Relevant Court of Appeal decisions concerning the sentencing of sexual offences.
- Communicating assessment findings to the court — how to present the purpose, findings and implications of an AIM Assessment clearly and effectively.
The workshop is co-delivered by Karen Martin, Deputy Director of AIM HSB, and Shauneen Lambe, Director of the Youth Justice Legal Centre (YJLC).
Karen Martin is a senior practitioner, trainer, and consultant with over 20 years’ experience in safeguarding with particular expertise in child sexual abuse (CSA) and harmful sexual behaviour (HSB). Her background spans youth justice, social care, residential services, and specialist HSB provision, combining extensive frontline practice with leadership and service development.
Shauneen Lambe is an internationally recognised lawyer, qualified as both a barrister in the UK and an attorney in the USA. She began her career at the Louisiana Crisis Assistance Center, representing clients facing the death penalty — including those accused of offences committed as children. A founding leader in youth justice reform, Shauneen is an Ashoka Fellow, an Eisenhower Fellow, and co-author of Youth Justice Law and Practice (the leading LAG textbook for lawyers).