Pre-Court Work
When a young person has committed a first or second minor offence they may receive one of the following instead of being dealt with by the Courts.
(Click on the three options above to find out more about each one)
These disposals are not classed as convictions and are only given to young people who: do not have a history of offending; have accepted responsibility for what they have done and are prepared to address their behaviour in conjunction with the YOS (if that is felt necessary by the Police).
If a young person commits a more serious offence they will be ordered to attend Court
Community Orders
In most cases, young people who attend Court will be sentenced to a Community Order rather than Custody. The YOS is responsible for supervising the young person whilst on a Community Order and ensuring they complete all requirements of the Order. .
A Community Order is based on the needs and risks of each individual young person. The YOS identifies the needs and risk of each young offender by assessing them with a national assessment tool - ASSET. This assessment enables the YOS to identify suitable programmes to address the needs of the young person with the intention of preventing further offending. These programmes nearly always include an element of Restorative Justice and may include specialist support such as Emotional and Mental Health, Education, Training & Employment, Housing and/or Substance Misuse. The assessment will also identify what the YOS will require of the young person eg how often the young person will need to be seen by the YOS. This is called the Scaled Approach.
Young people may be given the following community orders at Court:
(Click on the three options above to find out more about each one)
Custodial Sentences
The main custodial sentence given to young people is the Detention and Training Order (DTO) ranging from 4 months to 2 years in length. The young person will spend the first half of the sentence in custody and the second half in the community under the supervision of the YOS. The Court can require that Intensive Supervision and Surveillance (ISS) is part of the community element of the DTO.
Bail Supervision and Support
This is offered to young people who are at risk of being remanded in custody, secure accommodation or local authority accommodation. The YOS is responsible for supervising the young person whilst on the Bail Supervision and support programme.
Restorative Justice
Restorative Justice is central to the work of the YOS. The aim of Restorative Justice is to bring victims, offenders and communities together to decide on a response to a particular crime. It is about putting victims’ needs at the centre of the criminal justice system and finding positive solutions to crime by encouraging offenders to face up to their actions. Restorative justice approaches enable victims and local communities to have their say and to talk about the full impact of a crime on their lives. It also allows offenders to talk about why they committed the crime and gives them the opportunity to help put things right with the victim.
Restorative justice can play an important role in reducing re-offending by holding young people to account so that they will take part in repairing the harm they have caused and will learn from the experience. The majority of young people who come through the Youth Justice System and are given a Court Order will be expected to be involved in some form of restorative justice intervention.
Restorative Justice Interventions may include:
- Mediation - a direct intervention and involves the victim and offender meeting under controlled circumstances.
- Family Group Conferencing - a direct intervention and involves the young offender along with members of his/her extended family meeting the victim and supporters of the victim and possibly representatives of agencies.
- Victim attendance or representation at Referral Order Panels to express and share there views.
- Reparation - this can be a direct or indirect intervention depending on the wishes of the victim. Reparation is a practical way for young offenders to pay back for the harm caused by their offence, either by directly repairing the harm or through constructive work to help the local community.
- Victim Awareness Sessions - an indirect intervention to ensure young people are aware of the consequences of their actions and the effects it may have had on the victim(s).
- Letters of Apology to the victim.