The criminal justice service: A guide for young people

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The criminal justice serviceA guide for young
people
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Our key aims

• Protect the public and support victims and
  witnesses
• Bring offenders to justice
• Turn people away from crime
• Stop crime from happening in the first place

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Confidence in the CJS

• Through engagement with young people we aim to
• Inform people about the work and performance of
  the criminal justice service, showing it is fair
  and effective
• Listen to young peoples priorities about crime
  and anti-social behaviour
• Show young people how they can make a difference
  and play their part in tackling crime, as
• Volunteers
• Witnesses
• Active citizens in their local communities
• Ensure young people are confident that the
  criminal justice service will support them
  either as a victim or witness.

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Young people and crime

• The majority of young people do not commit crime
  and make a positive contribution to their
  communities.
• The Government estimates that five per cent of
  young people are responsible for more than half
  of all youth crime.
• Crime is reducing as a whole whatever your age.
• Each year, around 100,000 young people enter the
  criminal justice system for the first time.
• Each crime committed by a young person costs an
  average of 5,000. The cost of youth custody for
  London YP is around 30million a year.
• Turning just one in ten of the young people
  sentenced to custody away from crime would save
  100 million nationally.
• Young people are more likely to be either a
  victim or offender for certain types of crime
  such as street crime. Research shows that some
  young victims of crime can rapidly go on to
  become offenders.

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Youth Justice
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Out of court

• When a young person is charged with an offence
  they dont always end up in court.
• Young people must have a parent or appropriate
  adult with them when they are charged.
• If a young person commits a first or second
  offence and admits guilt most cases can be dealt
  with out of court but still have serious
  consequences.
• Young people may receive final warnings from the
  police, reprimands and/or referrals to Youth
  Offending Teams.
• If a young person commits further offences or is
  charged with a more serious offence the courts
  become involved.

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Court process

When a young person appears in court they can be
bailed to appear at the court again on a certain
date or remanded in custody if the offence is
serious.
If the young person is charged with a very
serious offence or charged with an adult, the
Youth Court will refer the case to the Crown
Court.
If the person pleads guilty or is convicted after
evidence is heard by the court, they are
sentenced.
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The Courts

• Youth Courts
• Handle most cases involving young people.
• Specially trained magistrates hear cases in
  private. Journalists and the public are not
  allowed in.
• Proceedings are more informal than in adult
  criminal courts.
• Can make a range of sentencing powers including
  detention, supervision orders, fines and
  conditional discharges.
• The maximum length of the detention and training
  orders they can impose is 24 months.
• If the offence is very serious, or the young
  person is charged with an adult the case can be
  transferred to a Crown Court.

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The Courts

• Magistrates Courts
• Deal with cases involving adults (over 18)
  generally but a young person can appear if
  charged with an adult.
• Most criminal cases are dealt with by
  magistrates.
• 97 of cases are heard in the Magistrates Court.
  They include the less serious offences but some
  of the most difficult decisions relate to
  deciding bail in serious cases.
• Cases are either dealt with by volunteer
  magistrates from the local community who receive
  special training sit in panels of three with a
  legal adviser OR
• District Judges who are paid legal professionals
  and can sit alone.
• Magistrates are limited to imposing sentences of
  12 months imprisonment or a 5,000 fine.

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The Courts

• Crown Courts
• Deal with the most serious criminal cases.
• Youth Courts and Magistrates Courts send more
  serious cases to Crown Court for
• sentencing by a Judge
• trial on not guilty pleas to serious charges
  involving jury and judge
• Can impose the maximum sentence for offences.

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The CJS agencies

• The police
• Work to protect life and property.
• Are responsible for law enforcement. Police
  officer powers include stop and search as well as
  arrest.
• After a young person is charged with a crime, the
  police decide whether they should be given bail
  or need to be kept in custody until their court
  case.
• The three police forces operating in London are
  the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), City of
  London Police, and British Transport Police.
• The Metropolitan Police Service has 31,000 police
  officers, 14,000 police support staff and 4,000
  Police Community Safety Officers.
• Their crime mapping is available to view by the
  public and you can see information about crime in
  your area.
• The MPS run a cadet scheme for volunteers aged
  14-19.
• Each borough has around 20 Safer Neighbourhood
  teams working with communities in defined local
  areas to respond to crime and anti-social
  behaviour.

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The CJS agencies

• The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)
• Works to bring people to justice
• Decides whether there is enough evidence
• Decides what the charge should be eg
• Certain crimes including racially or religiously
  motivated crimes (hate crimes are treated have
  specially categories with additional penalties.
• Domestic violence crime is a priority and
• Prepares cases for and presents these cases in
  court. It can seek compensation and satisfaction
  for victims of crime.
• Works with communities, local authorities and the
  police to tackle anti-social behaviour (ASB) by
  obtaining ASB orders after conviction.
• Works with the police to support victims and
  witnesses.
• Employs 9,000 people a third of whom are
  prosecutors.

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The CJS agencies

• Her Majestys Court Service (HMCS)
• HMCS works to deliver justice speedily and
  fairly.
• Runs all courts in England and Wales including
  Magistrates, Youth, Crown, Appeal and Family.
• New pilot Community Justice Courts
• HMCS services include
• legal advice and support to magistrates and
  judges.
• collection service for fines imposed by courts.
• Reception staff and ushers who take people in and
  out of court.
• Organising court time for cases so courts are
  efficiently run.

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The CJS agencies

• Youth Offending Teams (YOTs)
• Work with young people (aged 10-17) who have
  offended or are risk of doing so.
• If a young person has received a community
  sentence by a court YOTs ensure they follow the
  terms and conditions of court orders to reduce
  the risk of re-offending.
• They also supervise and support young people
  released from custody on licence to reduce the
  risk of re-offending.
• YOTs organise referral panels with community
  volunteers sitting on them. These can work with
  the parents of young people at risk of
  re-offending to devise contracts of good
  behaviour for them. They can also issue final
  warnings and reprimands or seek a curfew.
• Assess the needs of young people and identify
  programmes.
• Are multi-agency teams and include police
  officers, youth and social workers, as well as
  probation staff.
• YOT staff may attend police stations as necessary
  if a young person is arrested.

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The CJS agencies

• The Probation Service (London Probation)
• Supervises offenders given community sentences
• Supervises offenders released from prison on
  licence
• Supports offenders to change their behaviour
  through individual and group based work such as
  anger management, sex offender and domestic
  violence programmes.
• London Probation employs 3,000 staff and
  supervises 80,000 offenders a year, preparing
  around 30,000 reports for court.
• Runs unpaid work schemes in the community for
  offenders given community sentences called
  community payback.
• Runs hostels for offenders requiring additional
  supervision/support.
• Helps offenders turn their back on crime and
  develop new skills through employment and
  training services.
• Helps offenders tackle problems that contribute
  to them committing crimes such as alcohol and
  drug misuse, mental health or relationships
  issues, referring to specialist programmes as
  necessary.

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The CJS agencies

• The Prison Service
• Runs most prisons and youth offender
  institutions.
• It aims to ensure accommodation for prisoners is
  secure and works to stop re-offending on release.
• Prison population (August 2008) 83,406,
  including
• - 78,976 male prisoners
• - 4,430 female prisoners
• - 13,787 people on remand
• - 9,747 young adults
• - 2,403 young people (aged 15-17 years old).
• Roles in the Prison Service include, security,
  administration, bail information services as well
  as in programmes to address problems contributing
  to offending.
• The main youth offender institutions (17-21) are
  Feltham and The Mount in Hemel Hempstead.
• Young people who are 16 and under go to special
  secure units.

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• Victim Support
• National charity supporting victims and
  witnesses.
• Independent and offers support whether or not a
  crime is reported to the police.
• Runs witness services to help witnesses and their
  families.
• More than 10,000 volunteers
• In 2007
• Victim Support helped more than 250,000 witnesses
• contacted more than 1,500,000 victims of crime.

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