Community Panel Members were commissioned by the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999. After a national volunteers' conference was held in August 2003, London-based volunteers and YOT staff commenced exploratory meetings, with the objective of forming a national Association and central network. Reasons cited included addressing problems arising from staff turnover; the absence of adequate support for volunteers in YOTs which do not participate in local forums for pooling resources, and providing Panel Members opportunities to share experiences whilst adrift in a new and rapidly evolving setting. When still at a formative stage, the YJB issued National Standards which omitted the requirement for inclusion of Panel Members in YOT Steering Groups, Court Liaison groups and local Crime Reduction Partnerships.

At the same time, the effectiveness of Restorative Justice in reducing offending became subject to scepticism, resulting in cancellation of volunteers’ training programmes piloted in 2005, against a backdrop of punitive sentencing which delivered young people into newly constructed Secure Training Centres to maximise the capacity of the secure estate to detain up to 3000 under-18’s.  Many YOTs began to perceive a volunteers’ movement to stem the tide of withdrawal from Restorative Justice in a negative, undermining capacity and withdrew their support. Despite this discouragement, a small group of activists convened a Steering Group in Spring 2006 to establish AOPM as a not-for-profit company. With the support of South Western and other YOTs, an Inaugural Conference and AGM was held in April 2008, attended by volunteers from all parts of the country.