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Youth sentencing and crime diversion schemes
Crime reduction schemes for young people at risk of offending, custodial and community orders
These are managed by the Youth Justice Board, Youth Offending Teams, Local Education Authority, Social Services and the Police.
Youth Inclusion Programmes (YIPs)
Tailor-made programmes for 13 to 16-year-olds who are engaged in crime or are identified as being most at risk of offending, truancy, or social exclusion. They target young people in a neighbourhood who are considered to be most at risk of offending, but are also open to other young people in the local area. The programme gives young people somewhere safe to go where they can learn new skills, take part in activities with others and get help with their education and careers guidance. Each project has a target to reduce arrest rates amongst the young people they work with by 70% compared to the 12 months prior to their engagement
Positive Futures
A national sports-based social inclusion programme aimed at marginalised 10 to 19-year-olds in the most deprived areas of the country. It uses sport to provide constructive activity and to raise self esteem.
Safer School Partnerships
Provides a focused approach to address the high level of crime and anti-social behaviour committed in and around schools - crime committed by and against children and young people. All schools involved in the Safer School Partnerships initiative have a police officer based in their school. Close working between police and schools is crucial to keeping children in education, off the streets and away from a life of crime
Parenting programmes
Provides parents with an opportunity to improve their skills in dealing with the behaviour that puts their child at risk of offending. The programmes provide parents/carers with one-to-one advice as well as practical support in handling the behaviour of their child, setting appropriate boundaries and improving communication. By improving the parenting skills of parents/carers, these programmes are addressing one of the major factors associated with young people at risk of offending. This programme can be imposed as part of a court order.
Mentoring
Pairs a volunteer adult with a young person at risk of offending. The adult's role is to motivate and support the young person on the scheme through a sustained relationship over an extended period of time. The relationship is built upon trust and a commitment to confidentiality and equality between the mentor and the young person.
Options available as pre-Court Orders
These are managed by the Youth Offending Teams, Local Authority, Social Services and the Police.
Anti-Social Behaviour Order
Can be applied for by the police and/or a local authority. The order can be used with anyone who is 10 years of age or over and is behaving in a manner that causes distress or harassment to someone or some people who do not live in their own household. It excludes the young person from going to particular places or doing particular activities. If they do not comply with the order, they can be prosecuted.
Acceptable Behaviour Contract
Is given when a local authority and youth offending team identify a young person who is behaving anti-socially at a low level. In conjunction with the young person and their parents/carers, they agree a contract under which the young person agrees to stop the patterns of behaviour that are causing nuisance to the local community and undertake activities to address their offending behaviour.
Local Child Curfew
A local authority or police force can ban children under 16 from being in a public place during specified hours (between 9pm and 6am) unless under the control of a responsible adult. A local authority or police force can apply to the Home Secretary for a Local Child Curfew where a problem had been identified, for instance, with unsupervised children or young people involved in late night anti-social behaviour. A Local Child Curfew can last for up to 90 days and only applies to children under 16 years of age.
If a young person is sentenced, there are two custodial options
Detention & Training Order (DTO)
Can be given to 12- to 17-year-olds and is between four months and two years. The first half of the sentence is spent in custody whilst the second half is spent in the community under the supervision of the Youth Offending Team. The court can require the young person to be on an Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme (ISSP) as a condition of the community period of the sentence.
Section 90/91
If a young person is convicted of an offence for which an adult could receive at least 14 years in custody. This sentence can only be given in the Crown Court.
If sentenced to custody, a young person can be sent to
Secure children's homes
Young offenders aged 12 to 14, girls up to the age of 16, and 15 to 16-year-old boys who are assessed as vulnerable.
Secure Training Centres
Purpose-built centres for young offenders up to the age of 17
Young Offender Institutions (YOIs)
For 15 to 21-year-olds.
There are also a range of community sentence options
Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme (ISSP)
The most rigorous non-custodial intervention available for young offenders. It combines unprecedented levels of community-based surveillance with a comprehensive and sustained focus on tackling the factors that contribute to the young person's offending behaviour. ISSP targets the most active repeat young offenders, and those who commit the most serious crimes. The programme aims to reduce the frequency and seriousness of offending in the target groups, tackle the underlying needs of offenders which give rise to offending, with a particular emphasis on education and training and provide reassurance to communities through close surveillance backed up by rigorous enforcement.
Referral Order
Given to a young person who pleads guilty to an offence when it is their first time in court. The only exceptions are if the offence is so serious that the court decides a custodial sentence is absolutely necessary, or the offence is relatively minor (i.e. a 'non-imprisonable' offence such as a traffic offence or fare evasion). When a young person is given a Referral Order, they are required to attend a Youth Offender Panel (made up of two volunteers from the local community and panel adviser from a Youth Offending Team). The panel, with the young person, their parents/carers and the victim (where appropriate), agree a contract lasting between three and 12 months. The aim of the contract is to repair the harm caused by the offence and address the causes of the offending behaviour.
Community Punishment Order
Only available to courts for young people aged 16-17. It requires a young person to complete unpaid community work for a period of 40-240 hours. Examples of the type of activities involved are carpentry, conservation, decorating, working with the elderly or vulnerable. The sentence is supervised by the Probation Service Community Service Team.
Community Rehabilitation Order
Only available to courts for young people aged 16-17. It is equivalent to a Supervision Order, but for this specific age range. It is supervised by a Youth Offending Team and can include activities such as repairing the harm caused by their offence, programmes to address offending behaviour or an Intensive Supervision & Surveillance Programme.
Community Rehabilitation & Punishment Order
Only available to courts for young people aged 16-17. It involves elements of both the Community Punishment Order and the Community Rehabilitation Order. It can last for 12 months to 3 years. The unpaid community work can last between 40-100 hours.
Curfew Order
Requires a young person to remain for set periods of time at a specified place. The time period can be between 2-12 hours a day
Parenting Order
Can be given to the parents/carers of young people who offend, truant or who have received a Child Safety Order, Anti-Social Behaviour Order or Sex Offender Order. It lasts for 3 months, but can be extended to 12 months. It does not result in the parent/carer getting a criminal record. A parent/carer who receives a Parenting Order will be required to attend counselling or guidance sessions. They may also have conditions imposed on them such as attending their child's school, ensuring their child does not visit a particular place unsupervised or ensuring their child is at home at particular times. A failure to fulfil the conditions can be treated as a criminal offence and the parent/carer can be prosecuted.
Drug Treatment & Testing Order
Used for young offenders who have drug misuse issues that require treatment. The order lasts between 6 months and 3 years and the young person must agree to comply with the order before it can be made. Under the order, the young person receives regular drug testing and treatment in the community. The young person receiving the order is supervised by the Probation Service.
Action Plan Order
An intensive, community-based programme lasting 3 months. The order is supervised by the Youth Offending Team. The programme developed is specifically tailored to the risks and needs of the young person. It can include repairing the harm done to the victim of the offence or the community, education and training, attending an Attendance Centre or a variety of other programmes to address a young person's offending behaviour
Attendance Centre Order
Sentences a young person to attend an Attendance Centre. Attendance Centres are normally run by the police. The regime typically involves discipline, physical training and social skills. The order can last up to 36 hours depending on the age of the offender and the seriousness of the offence.
Reparation Order
Designed to help young offenders understand the consequences of their offending and take responsibility for their behaviour. They require the young person to repair the harm caused by their offence either directly to the victim (this can involve victim/offender mediation if both parties agree) or indirectly to the community. Examples of this might be cleaning up graffiti or undertaking community work. The order is overseen by the Youth Offending Team (Yot).
Fine
The size of a fine reflects the offence committed and the offender's financial circumstances. For a person under 16 years of age, the payment of the fine is the responsibility of their parents/carers and their financial circumstances will be taken in to account when the level of the fine is set.
Crime reduction schemes for young people at risk of offending, custodial and community orders
These are managed by the Youth Justice Board, Youth Offending Teams, Local Education Authority, Social Services and the Police.
Youth Inclusion Programmes (YIPs)
Tailor-made programmes for 13 to 16-year-olds who are engaged in crime or are identified as being most at risk of offending, truancy, or social exclusion. They target young people in a neighbourhood who are considered to be most at risk of offending, but are also open to other young people in the local area. The programme gives young people somewhere safe to go where they can learn new skills, take part in activities with others and get help with their education and careers guidance. Each project has a target to reduce arrest rates amongst the young people they work with by 70% compared to the 12 months prior to their engagement
Positive Futures
A national sports-based social inclusion programme aimed at marginalised 10 to 19-year-olds in the most deprived areas of the country. It uses sport to provide constructive activity and to raise self esteem.
Safer School Partnerships
Provides a focused approach to address the high level of crime and anti-social behaviour committed in and around schools - crime committed by and against children and young people. All schools involved in the Safer School Partnerships initiative have a police officer based in their school. Close working between police and schools is crucial to keeping children in education, off the streets and away from a life of crime
Parenting programmes
Provides parents with an opportunity to improve their skills in dealing with the behaviour that puts their child at risk of offending. The programmes provide parents/carers with one-to-one advice as well as practical support in handling the behaviour of their child, setting appropriate boundaries and improving communication. By improving the parenting skills of parents/carers, these programmes are addressing one of the major factors associated with young people at risk of offending. This programme can be imposed as part of a court order.
Mentoring
Pairs a volunteer adult with a young person at risk of offending. The adult's role is to motivate and support the young person on the scheme through a sustained relationship over an extended period of time. The relationship is built upon trust and a commitment to confidentiality and equality between the mentor and the young person.
Options available as pre-Court Orders
These are managed by the Youth Offending Teams, Local Authority, Social Services and the Police.
Anti-Social Behaviour Order
Can be applied for by the police and/or a local authority. The order can be used with anyone who is 10 years of age or over and is behaving in a manner that causes distress or harassment to someone or some people who do not live in their own household. It excludes the young person from going to particular places or doing particular activities. If they do not comply with the order, they can be prosecuted.
Acceptable Behaviour Contract
Is given when a local authority and youth offending team identify a young person who is behaving anti-socially at a low level. In conjunction with the young person and their parents/carers, they agree a contract under which the young person agrees to stop the patterns of behaviour that are causing nuisance to the local community and undertake activities to address their offending behaviour.
Local Child Curfew
A local authority or police force can ban children under 16 from being in a public place during specified hours (between 9pm and 6am) unless under the control of a responsible adult. A local authority or police force can apply to the Home Secretary for a Local Child Curfew where a problem had been identified, for instance, with unsupervised children or young people involved in late night anti-social behaviour. A Local Child Curfew can last for up to 90 days and only applies to children under 16 years of age.
If a young person is sentenced, there are two custodial options
Detention & Training Order (DTO)
Can be given to 12- to 17-year-olds and is between four months and two years. The first half of the sentence is spent in custody whilst the second half is spent in the community under the supervision of the Youth Offending Team. The court can require the young person to be on an Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme (ISSP) as a condition of the community period of the sentence.
Section 90/91
If a young person is convicted of an offence for which an adult could receive at least 14 years in custody. This sentence can only be given in the Crown Court.
If sentenced to custody, a young person can be sent to
Secure children's homes
Young offenders aged 12 to 14, girls up to the age of 16, and 15 to 16-year-old boys who are assessed as vulnerable.
Secure Training Centres
Purpose-built centres for young offenders up to the age of 17
Young Offender Institutions (YOIs)
For 15 to 21-year-olds.
There are also a range of community sentence options
Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme (ISSP)
The most rigorous non-custodial intervention available for young offenders. It combines unprecedented levels of community-based surveillance with a comprehensive and sustained focus on tackling the factors that contribute to the young person's offending behaviour. ISSP targets the most active repeat young offenders, and those who commit the most serious crimes. The programme aims to reduce the frequency and seriousness of offending in the target groups, tackle the underlying needs of offenders which give rise to offending, with a particular emphasis on education and training and provide reassurance to communities through close surveillance backed up by rigorous enforcement.
Referral Order
Given to a young person who pleads guilty to an offence when it is their first time in court. The only exceptions are if the offence is so serious that the court decides a custodial sentence is absolutely necessary, or the offence is relatively minor (i.e. a 'non-imprisonable' offence such as a traffic offence or fare evasion). When a young person is given a Referral Order, they are required to attend a Youth Offender Panel (made up of two volunteers from the local community and panel adviser from a Youth Offending Team). The panel, with the young person, their parents/carers and the victim (where appropriate), agree a contract lasting between three and 12 months. The aim of the contract is to repair the harm caused by the offence and address the causes of the offending behaviour.
Community Punishment Order
Only available to courts for young people aged 16-17. It requires a young person to complete unpaid community work for a period of 40-240 hours. Examples of the type of activities involved are carpentry, conservation, decorating, working with the elderly or vulnerable. The sentence is supervised by the Probation Service Community Service Team.
Community Rehabilitation Order
Only available to courts for young people aged 16-17. It is equivalent to a Supervision Order, but for this specific age range. It is supervised by a Youth Offending Team and can include activities such as repairing the harm caused by their offence, programmes to address offending behaviour or an Intensive Supervision & Surveillance Programme.
Community Rehabilitation & Punishment Order
Only available to courts for young people aged 16-17. It involves elements of both the Community Punishment Order and the Community Rehabilitation Order. It can last for 12 months to 3 years. The unpaid community work can last between 40-100 hours.
Curfew Order
Requires a young person to remain for set periods of time at a specified place. The time period can be between 2-12 hours a day
Parenting Order
Can be given to the parents/carers of young people who offend, truant or who have received a Child Safety Order, Anti-Social Behaviour Order or Sex Offender Order. It lasts for 3 months, but can be extended to 12 months. It does not result in the parent/carer getting a criminal record. A parent/carer who receives a Parenting Order will be required to attend counselling or guidance sessions. They may also have conditions imposed on them such as attending their child's school, ensuring their child does not visit a particular place unsupervised or ensuring their child is at home at particular times. A failure to fulfil the conditions can be treated as a criminal offence and the parent/carer can be prosecuted.
Drug Treatment & Testing Order
Used for young offenders who have drug misuse issues that require treatment. The order lasts between 6 months and 3 years and the young person must agree to comply with the order before it can be made. Under the order, the young person receives regular drug testing and treatment in the community. The young person receiving the order is supervised by the Probation Service.
Action Plan Order
An intensive, community-based programme lasting 3 months. The order is supervised by the Youth Offending Team. The programme developed is specifically tailored to the risks and needs of the young person. It can include repairing the harm done to the victim of the offence or the community, education and training, attending an Attendance Centre or a variety of other programmes to address a young person's offending behaviour
Attendance Centre Order
Sentences a young person to attend an Attendance Centre. Attendance Centres are normally run by the police. The regime typically involves discipline, physical training and social skills. The order can last up to 36 hours depending on the age of the offender and the seriousness of the offence.
Reparation Order
Designed to help young offenders understand the consequences of their offending and take responsibility for their behaviour. They require the young person to repair the harm caused by their offence either directly to the victim (this can involve victim/offender mediation if both parties agree) or indirectly to the community. Examples of this might be cleaning up graffiti or undertaking community work. The order is overseen by the Youth Offending Team (Yot).
Fine
The size of a fine reflects the offence committed and the offender's financial circumstances. For a person under 16 years of age, the payment of the fine is the responsibility of their parents/carers and their financial circumstances will be taken in to account when the level of the fine is set.
