Youth justice in England and Wales

The youth justice system in England and Wales comprises the organs and processes which are used to prosecute, convict and punish persons under 18 years of age who commit criminal offences. The principal aim of the youth justice system is to prevent offending by children and young persons.Crime and Disorder Act 1988, UKStatute|1570340|s. 37.] .

Criminal law

Age of criminal responsibility

A child who is aged under 10 is irrebuttably presumed to be incapable of committing an offence.Harvnb|Hooper|2008|p=1888] Prior to 1998, a child aged between 10 and 14 was presumed to be incapable of committing an offence unless the prosecution were able to prove that the child knew the difference between right and wrong. Now, children between 10 and 14 are capable of committing offences and it is not possible for a child to avoid liability by showing he does not know the difference between right and wrong.Crime and Disorder Act 1988, UKStatute|1570335|s. 34; cite BAILII
country=ew
litigants=R v. T
court=EWCA
division=Crim
year=2008
num=815
para=
date=] However, a child should not be found guilty if he is unfit to plead.

Criminal procedure before trial

Arrest

After a person under 17 has been arrested and taken to a police station, [http://police.homeoffice.gov.uk/news-and-publications/publication/operational-policing/PACECodeCH.pdf?version=1 Code C] to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 requires that the custody officer ascertain the identity of a parent, guardian, Local Authority carer or any other person who has assumed responsibility for the juvenile's welfare and must inform them of the arrest. The custody officer should inform the appropriate adult (who may or may not be the same person) of the grounds for the detainee's detention and ask the adult to come to the police station to see the detainee. The juvenile should be told of the duties of the appropriate adult and that the juvenile can consult privately with the appropriate adult at any time, but warned that such conversations are not privileged.

The juvenile may not ordinarily be interviewed, be asked to provide or sign a written statement under caution, be asked to sign a record of interview without an appropriate adult being present. A superintendent may authorise an interview without an appropriate adult if:
* he is satisfied the interview would not significantly harm the person's physical or mental state; and
* delay would be likely to either
** lead to interference with, or harm to, evidence connected with an offence,
** lead to interference with, or physical harm to, other people,
** lead to serious loss of, or damage to, property,
** lead to alerting other people suspected of committing an offence but not yet arrested for it, or
** hinder the recovery of property obtained in consequence of the commission of the offence.

During an interview where an appropriate adult is present, an appropriate adult should:
* advise the person being interviewed;
* observe whether the interview is being conducted properly and fairly; and
* facilitate communication with he person being interviewed.

Prosecution, reprimands and final warnings

The Crown Prosecution service has produced [http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/section4/chapter_b.html detailed guidance] on prosecuting juveniles.

A police officer may proceed by way of reprimand or (final) warning, where the following conditions are satisfied:
* a constable has evidence that a child or young person ( “the offender”) has committed an offence;
* the constable considers that the evidence is such that, if the offender were prosecuted for the offence, there would be a realistic prospect of his being convicted;
* the offender admits to the constable that he committed the offence;
* the offender has not previously been convicted of an offence; and
* the constable is satisfied that it would not be in the public interest for the offender to be prosecuted.Crime and Disorder Act 1998, UKStatute|1570376|s. 65.]

A police officer can either give the offender a "reprimand" or a "final warning". A final warning is more serious. Once a person has received one reprimand he cannot receive a second. A person may be given a final warning without a reprimand if the seriousness of the offence warrants this course. A person may exceptionally be given a second (but not a third) final warning if "the offence was committed more than two years after the date of the previous warning and the constable considers the offence to be not so serious as to require a charge to be brought".

In the case of a juvenile under the age of 17, the reprimand or final warning should be given in the presence of an appropriate adult. Where a police officer gives a final warning, he should refer the offender to the local youth offending team who should arrange for him to participate in a rehabilitation programme unless they consider it inappropriate to do so.Crime and Disorder Act 1998, UKStatute|1570377|s. 66.]

First appearance

Having been formally accused of committing an offence, a juvenile will make his first appearance in the Youth Court unless:
* the juvenile is jointly charged with an adult;
* the juvenile is charged with aiding and abetting an adult (or visa versa);
* the juvenile is charged with an offence arising from the same circumstances as those in which an adult is accused of committing an offence.

Bail

A juvenile has a general right to bail.

As for adults, the main reasons for refusing bail are that the defendant is accused of an imprisonable offence and there are substantial grounds for believing that the defendant:
#will abscond;
#will commit further offences whilst on bail; or
#will interfere with witnesses.Bail Act 1976, [http://www.statutelaw.gov.uk/legResults.aspx?ActiveTextDocId=1341710 Schedule 1] .]

The court may also refuse bail for the juvenile's own protection or welfareBail Act 1976, [http://www.statutelaw.gov.uk/legResults.aspx?ActiveTextDocId=1341710 Schedule 1] , para. 3. For adults, the courts have a power to refuse bail for the defendant's own protection, but not for his welfare.] or for a limited number of other reasons. [See bail.]

A juvenile's parent may be asked to act as a surety for up to £50 for the juvenile's attendance at court and compliance with any conditions attached to bail. [Bail Act 1976, UKStatute|1341691|s. 3.]

Detention in custody

Where a juvenile is refused bail, he is normally remanded in local authority accommodation. He may be remanded in secure accommodation only if:
* the juvenile is over 12 years old; and
* either
** he is charged with or has been convicted of a violent or sexual offence, or an offence punishable in the case of an adult with imprisonment for a term of fourteen years or more, or
** taken together, the offences of which he has been convicted and with which he has been charged amount to a recent history of repeatedly committing imprisonable offences while remanded on bail or to local authority accommodation. [Children and Young Persons Act 1969, UKStatute|390219|s. 23(5).]

Trial

Place of trial

A juvenile will ordinarily be tried in the Youth Court. A juvenile may only be tried in an adult Magistrates' Court where he is charged alongside an adult.

A juvenile will be tried in the Crown Court where:

Community sentences

If a court considers the offences serious enough to warrant a community sentence, and that a community sentence or combination thereof would be most suitable to the offender and commensurate with the seriousness of the offence, it may pass a community sentencePowers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000, UKStatute|2138894|s. 35] in accordance with the following table:

Where a court should normally obtain a pre-sentence report, it may dispense with this requirement if it considers it unnecessary to do so. In respect of offenders under 18, it may only dispense with the report if a current offence is triable on indictment or the court has had reference to the most recent previous pre-sentence report for the offender.

Referral orders

Under certain circumstances, a Youth Court (or other Magistrates Court) must or may make a referral to a local youth offender panel. The panel should seek to agree a "contract", a programme of behaviour, with the young offender.Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000, UKStatute|2138877|ss. 23-27.] If a contract cannot be agreed, the young offender panel refers the offender back to the court. The length of the programme is determined by the court when making the reference and must be between three months and one year.Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000, UKStatute|2138871|s. 18.] UKStatute|2138878|Section 23 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 makes the following provision about the contents of the contract:

(2) The terms of the programme may, in particular, include provision for any of the following—:(a) the offender to make financial or other reparation to any person who appears to the panel to be a victim of, or otherwise affected by, the offence, or any of the offences, for which the offender was referred to the panel;:(b) the offender to attend mediation sessions with any such victim or other person;:(c) the offender to carry out unpaid work or service in or for the community;:(d) the offender to be at home at times specified in or determined under the programme;:(e) attendance by the offender at a school or other educational establishment or at a place of work;:(f) the offender to participate in specified activities (such as those designed to address offending behaviour, those offering education or training or those assisting with the rehabilitation of persons dependent on, or having a propensity to misuse, alcohol or drugs);:(g) the offender to present himself to specified persons at times and places specified in or determined under the programme;:(h) the offender to stay away from specified places or persons (or both);:(i) enabling the offender’s compliance with the programme to be supervised and recorded.

(3) The programme may not, however, provide—(a) for the electronic monitoring of the offender’s whereabouts; or(b) for the offender to have imposed on him any physical restriction on his movements.

Referral orders only fall to be considered if:
*the offender is before a Youth Court or other Magistrates' Court;
*the offender is under 18;
*the offence was not murder;
*the court is not proposing to pass a sentence absolutely discharging the offender;
*referral orders are available in the area;
*the offender has never previously been convicted in the UK; and
*the offender has never been bound over to keep the peace in England and Wales or Northern Ireland.Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000, UKStatute|2138869|s. 16.] Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000, UKStatute|2138870|s. 17.]

If the above conditions are satisfied and the offender has pleaded guilty to all of the offences before the court and one of them is punishable by imprisonment, the court must make a referral order. If otherwise the above conditions are satisfied and the offender has pleaded guilty to at least one offence before the court and not-guilty to another (regardless of whether they are imprisonable), the court may make a referral order.

If a court has made a referral order, it may not at the same time:
*impose a community sentence on the offender;
*order him to pay a fine;
*make a reparation order in respect of him;
*discharge him conditionally;
*bind him over to keep the peace or to be of good behaviour;
*bind over a parent or guardian; or
*make a parenting order.Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000, UKStatute|2138872|s. 19.]

Reparation orders

Other than in respect of a conviction for murder, and having received a report indicating the type of work suitable and the attitude of the victim(s), the offender may be ordered by the court to make reparation by making reparation to certain persons or to the community at large, so long as this does not involve more than 24 hours work.Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000, UKStatute|2138953|s. 73-75.] A reparation order may not be made where a community sentence or custodial sentence is passed.

References