The statutory provisions relating to IT -- contained in sections 12, 18(4), and 19 of the 1969 Children and Young Persons Act -- are discussed. The introduction of IT to fill the gap caused when juvenile courts had to decide between placing a child in an institutional environment or punishing him in some other way is addressed. Funding for IT is examined and shown to be far less than funding for residential care in borstals or community homes. An IT program that catered to 365 youths aged 11 to 17 over 2.5 years is analyzed, and the program's success in preventing recidivism is highlighted: by September 1982 only 9 of the 33 previous offenders had offended or come to the notice of the police again. An IT program operated by the Probation Service is examined, and a study of police attitudes and IT involvement in England and Wales that shows great variance is discussed. Treatment programs for juveniles in the United States are described, and the formulation of IT is traced to the shift from institutional techniques to community-based treatment techniques in the United States. Finally, the need for police involvement in IT is emphasized. Thirty references are provided. Appendixes contain statutory provisions of IT, types of IT schemes, and sample letters and forms.