Youth Justice Service

Our service is part of the Youth Justice System. We provide help to 10 to 17-year-olds who get into trouble with the law and help them stay away from crime.

Out of court disposals

Out of court disposals are a way of dealing with less serious offending and are available to those who have admitted their offence at the police station, are sorry for their behaviour and follow the rules of the Youth Justice Service.

There are 3 different programmes young people can be placed on - triage, youth caution and youth conditional caution.

Triage

  • The young person and their parent/carer will be given an intervention plan, which will involve them doing 3 hours' community work (reparation) and attending appointments with the Youth Justice Service.
  • If they do not complete the plan and the young person is arrested again, this information will be shared with the police and courts.
  • Young people will not need to declare a triage on any Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check
     

Youth caution

  • A formal notice given by a police officer when a young person has admitted an offence.
  • The caution warns what will happen if they commit another offence.
  • We will assess the young person; this normally includes visiting them in their home.
  • Someone from our team will speak to the young person and their parents about the offence.
  • The young person will need to complete reparation and attend appointments with our service.
  • A youth caution becomes part of the young person's criminal record and will appear on a DBS check.
     

Youth conditional caution

  • This is very similar to a youth caution but has extra conditions, which are set by us once we have assessed the young person, and may include attending school or doing reparation.
  • If the young person does not complete the whole programme within 3 months, they may be taken to court and sentenced to a court order.
  • A youth conditional caution becomes part of the young person's criminal record and will appear on a DBS.
Page last updated: 07 Mar 2023