New law allows police more flexibility with young offenders
On 8 April 2013 the law changed regarding how police deal with young people out of court, allowing them to deal quickly and proportionately with low-level, and often first-time, offending which does not merit prosecution at court.
The new legislation (under the Legal Aid and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012) and new processes introduced is intended to ensure the right decision is made for a young person.
Young people will be dealt with by a restorative disposal, caution, conditional caution or charge.
All of the disposals for young offenders are available at any stage of offending with appropriate consultation with the youth offending team (YOT). The system is not escalatory therefore just because a young offender has previously been to court they will not necessarily go back to court for another offence.
Reprimands, final warnings and penalty notices for disorder for young people will no longer be used.
There is a new requirement for consultation between the police and the YOT from the second or subsequent disposal which will ensure young offenders are dealt with robustly, fairly and consistently.
Inspector Brent Davison, Force Youth Issues Manager, said: “The way we used to deal with young offenders by issuing reprimands, final warnings, restorative disposals and penalty notices for disorder were seen by some people to be confusing and perhaps not fair. The new system is more flexible, but with that flexibility comes a responsibility to get it right which is why we will be consulting with the YOT to ensure consistent decisions are made in line with national guidance.
“The new process is much clearer, less rigid and enables circumstances of the case to be taken into account which means young people can be dealt with in the most effective and appropriate way.”
Torbay Council’s Head of Family Services, Nigel Denning, said: “The new system will allow young people to be dealt with in a more adaptable way. It will enable good decision making to be made between the police and youth offending teams so young people’s offending has a co-ordinated, appropriate response that addresses the needs of both the offender and victim. This new process will allow more young people and their victims to be dealt with in a restorative manner whilst allowing the court process to deal with more serious matters.”
Police have issued the following further explanatory information/Q&A:
1. Why is there going to be a change in the way young people are dealt with?
The law requires it, the Legal Aid and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 legislates change from 8 April 2013. Our local practices will also change.
2. What will the changes be?
There are three main changes:
- Appropriate youth disposal decisions can be made at any stage, removing the current escalator system which means once a young person has gone to court they will then have to return to court for the next disposal.
- Locally informal restorative disposals will be considered with formal cautions, conditional cautions and charge. This means that the appropriate decision can be made with reference to national guidance, rather than one driven by a process and this should increase public confidence in restorative disposals.
- The police will have a duty to consult with the YOT prior to a disposal decision to ensure the decision is properly informed by subject experts.
3. Is this being ‘soft on crime’?
No, this approach enables the right intervention to be put in place. This is an outcome based approach which contains punitive, developmental and restorative elements rather than being simply punitive.
4. Isn’t this just to save money?
No. Whilst savings may well be made in relation to court costs, the drive is to ensure the right disposal for the young person, and that should be driven by the facts and informed consultation with partners rather than by process.
5. What about criminalising young people?
In recent years some people have talked about the criminalisation of young people. This has often been related to cautions, conditional cautions or convictions which have subsequently been disclosed years later when people have applied for certain jobs and had their record disclosed as a result of a Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check. This will still be the case however restorative disposals will remain at the discretion of senior officers to disclose under a CRB check. So, inappropriate ‘criminalisation’ of young people should be reduced as officers will be able to offer restorative disposals where appropriate.
6. What about the victims of youth crime?
Subject to the consent of the victim, they will be consulted with by the YOT to establish their views about the offence, the impact on them and their desired outcome. The YOT will also explain the options open to the victim and how they may be involved with the case.
