In the news

Yep.

The process seems to be:

-Teenager gets stopped for smoking weed
-Some get taken home to see if there is a responsible adult there, some get taken to the local nick and held (often overnight)
-Police then decide whether to process themselves or refer to YOT
-The decision and subsequent process hinges on whether the teenager seems to have a supportive and articulate family, is in school, has a job, has thoughts about their future, where they hang out and with whom, has a legitimate source of income...

The aim is to establish whether the teenager is at risk of grooming and (county lines) gangs, or simply smoking weed because that's what teenagers do. What happens next is based on a well-intentioned but flawed and utterly subjective approach to safeguarding. You don't need to be a genius to guess which kids get a friendly YOT rap on the knuckles and which have a far less pleasant experience.