The principal aim of the youth justice system is to prevent offending by children and young people. The Youth Offending Team are responsible for coordinating the provision of youth justice services to a particular area. They will assist the youth Court in investigating the personal circumstances and convictions of young offenders, providing support for juveniles who are granted bail and preparing pre-sentence reports.
As a starting point, youth trials take place in the Magistrates’ Court. The youth Court will hear cases involving defendants aged between 10 and 17 inclusive. The exceptions are:
- Homicide;
- Where the defendant is 16 and is accused of an offence related to firearms;
- Grave crimes: Grave crimes are offences where an adult offender aged 21 or over could receive a custodial sentence of 14 years or more together with a number of specific sexual offences. The youth Court should send a grave crime case to the Crown Court if it considers that its maximum sentencing powers will be insufficient;Where a juvenile is charged with a violent or sexual offence if they can be properly regarded as a dangerous offender.Where a juvenile is charged alongside an adult, the juvenile may be sent to the Crown Court but only where this would be regarded as in the interests of justice.
- Where an adult’s case is dealt with in the Magistrates Court the adult and juvenile will be tried together in the adult magistrates Court. The case can then be sent to the youth court for sentencing if appropriate.
There is a separate guidelines for sentencing children and young people. The guidelines reflects that the principal purpose of the youth justice system is to prevent offending by children and young people and to safeguard their welfare. The complete guidelines state as follows:
When sentencing children or young people (those aged under 18 at the date of the finding of guilt) a court must have regard to:
The principal aim of the youth justice system (to prevent offending by children and young people); and the welfare of the child or young person.
1.2 While the seriousness of the offence will be the starting point, the approach to sentencing should be individualistic and focused on the child or young person, as opposed to offence focused. For a child or young person the sentence should focus on rehabilitation where possible. A court should also consider the effect the sentence is likely to have on the child or young person (both positive and negative) as well as any underlying factors contributing to the offending behaviour.
1.3 Domestic and international laws dictate that a custodial sentence should always be a measure of last resort for children and young people and statute provides that a custodial sentence may only be imposed when the offence is so serious that no other sanction is appropriate (see section six for more information on custodial sentences).
1.4 It is important to avoid “criminalising” children and young people unnecessarily; the primary purpose of the youth justice system is to encourage children and young people to take responsibility for their own actions and promote re-integration into society rather than to punish. Restorative justice disposals may be of particular value for children and young people as they can encourage them to take responsibility for their actions and understand the impact their offence may have had on others.
1.5 It is important to bear in mind any factors that may diminish the culpability of a child or young person. Children and young people are not fully developed and they have not attained full maturity. As such, this can impact on their decision making and risk taking behaviour. It is important to consider the extent to which the child or young person has been acting impulsively and whether their conduct has been affected by inexperience, emotional volatility or negative influences. They may not fully appreciate the effect their actions can have on other people and may not be capable of fully understanding the distress and pain they cause to the victims of their crimes. Children and young people are also likely to be susceptible to peer pressure and other external influences and changes taking place during adolescence can lead to experimentation, resulting in criminal behaviour. When considering a child or young person’s age their emotional and developmental age is of at least equal importance to their chronological age (if not greater).
1.6 For these reasons, children and young people are likely to benefit from being given an opportunity to address their behaviour and may be receptive to changing their conduct. They should, if possible, be given the opportunity to learn from their mistakes without undue penalisation or stigma, especially as a court sanction might have a significant effect on the This section does not apply when imposing a mandatory life sentence, when imposing a statutory minimum custodial sentence, when imposing detention for life under the dangerous offender provisions.
Determining the sentence
In determining the sentence, the key elements to consider are:
• the principal aim of the youth justice system (to prevent re-offending by children and young people);
• the welfare of the child or young person;
• the age of the child or young person (chronological, developmental and emotional); • the seriousness of the offence;
• the likelihood of further offences being committed; and
• the extent of harm likely to result from those further offences.
The seriousness of the offence (This applies to all offences; when offence specific guidance for children and young people is available this should be referred to.)
The seriousness of the offence is the starting point for determining the appropriate sentence; the sentence imposed and any restriction on liberty must be commensurate with the seriousness of the offence.
The approach to sentencing children and young people should always be individualistic and the court should always have in mind the principal aims of the youth justice system.
4.4 In order to determine the seriousness of the offence the court should assess the culpability of the child or young person and the harm that was caused, intended to be caused or could foreseeably have been caused.
In assessing culpability the court will wish to consider the extent to which the offence was planned, the role of the child or young person (if the offence was committed as part of a group), the level of force that was used in the commission of the offence and the awareness that the child or young person had of their actions and its possible consequences. There is an expectation that in general a child or young person will be dealt with less severely than an adult offender. In part, this is because children and young people are unlikely to have the same experience and capacity as an adult to understand the effect of their actions on other people or to appreciate the pain and distress caused and because a child or young person may be less able to resist temptation, especially where peer pressure is exerted. Children and young people are inherently more vulnerable than adults due to their age and the court will need to consider any mental health problems and/or learning disabilities they may have, as well as their emotional and developmental age. Any external factors that may have affected the child or young person’s behaviour should be taken into account.
In assessing harm the court should consider the level of physical and psychological harm caused to the victim, the degree of any loss caused to the victim and the extent of any damage caused to property. (This assessment should also include a consideration of any harm that was intended to be caused or could foreseeably have been caused in the committal of the offence.) 4.7 The court should also consider any aggravating or mitigating factors that may increase or reduce the overall seriousness of the offence. If any of these factors are included in the definition of the committed offence they should not be taken into account when considering the relative seriousness of the offence before the court.