Understanding sentencing
Children and young people will normally be sentenced in a Youth Court. Where an offence may result in a more serious sentence, the case could be heard in Crown Court. This is because longer sentences can be given at Crown Court.
These are given for the least serious offences. This means that the child or young person is released from court without any further action. They will still get a criminal record.
The court decides not to impose a punishment. This is because the experience of going to court has been punishment enough.
This is given for an amount of time. For example, 1 year. During that time no further action will be taken. If you commit another crime, you may get sentenced for the first offence as well as the new one.
The fine should reflect the offence committed and the child or young person’s ability to pay. Where the child or young person is under 16, the parent or carer must pay the fine. It will be their ability to pay that is taken into account when setting the level of the fine.
The Referral Order is normally the first order a young person can have at court. After your child is sentenced to this order, we will meet you and your child. We will gather information from any professionals involved. We will then carry out an assessment to present to the ‘Referral Order Panel’. The Panel will then agree a ‘contract’ or plan with you and your child about how to proceed on the order. This contract will be about how:
The Court may make it a requirement that the young person is accompanied at the panel meetings. This could be a parent, carer or responsible adult (including a professional involved).
The following Orders are only given in court after an assessment similar to that for an Out of Court Disposal and a Referral Order is done. This assessment will be presented as a report to the Court to help them in sentencing. It is a Pre-Sentence Report (PSR). The young person, their parents and any professionals involved will be involved in this report. It will make recommendations to the court about what order you should be sentenced to. Talk with your TYJS worker about this report and what recommendation will be made to the court.
A Youth Rehabilitation Order will contain one or more requirements. These will usually include working with the TYJS (a Supervision Requirement). It may also contain other activities, such as:
This will start with appointments with a worker from the TYJS at least weekly, sometimes more. It may mean having electronic monitoring equipment at the young person’s home for up to 3 months. It can also include intensive intervention programmes for up to 25 hours a week over a 12 month period.
Only a very small number of young people receive a custodial sentence in the Torbay area. These are only for very serious offences. Since 2020 there has only been 1 young person sentenced to custody.
If a child or young person gets a custody sentence, they will go to either:
For longer sentences they may move from one to another as they get older. They usually serve the first half of the sentence in custody. The Youth Offending Service supervise the second half in the community.
We remain responsible for the child or young person wherever they are placed. We will be in frequent contact with you, your child and the secure accommodation provider. You will have frequent meetings and reviews which you should attend with:
As parents, or carers parents, you will be able to visit at other times by arrangement with the secure provision. If agreed, your child can have telephone contact whilst in custody. This can be with both with family and professionals. Maintaining contact is a high priority for young people in custody. It is a key element for resettlement when they are released.