Out Of Court Disposals For Children And Young People
A criminal conviction at any time and at any age is liable to have a hugely detrimental impact on your life especially with regards to work and education. That is why it is so important to use the tools, guidance and mechanisms available to avoid a criminal conviction, particularly for children.
There is a huge misconception that if a child is convicted of a crime and is sentenced that it won’t appear on their criminal record as an adult and is magically erased once they turn 18. Unfortunately, that is not the case. If a child is sentenced in the youth court whatever they are sentenced too, whether it’s a Referral Order (a community-based sentence) or custody, it stays on their criminal record. Although a Referral order is ‘spent’ once the order is completed, if you apply for a job that requires an ‘enhanced’ DBS background check it can be disclosed and a foolish mistake made by a young person could have severe consequences for life.
This is why advocating for a young person to receive an out of court disposal or a discontinuance is so incredibly important. There are four main out of court disposals (OOCD) which are available to children between 10- 17. These are a Youth Caution, A Youth Conditional Caution, a Community Resolution and Outcome 22.
A Youth Caution and Youth Conditional Caution both require that the child admit to the offence that they are being investigated for, but a Youth Conditional Caution will require that the young person follow suitable conditions which, if they fail to comply with, may result in them being prosecuted.
A Community Resolution and Outcome 22 do not require an admission to the offence. A Community Resolution means that you accept responsibility but are not making a formal admission to a crime. It often requires that you agree to some form of restorative action such as writing a letter of apology or paying compensation. Outcome 22 does not require an admission of the offence or acceptance of responsibility; its aim is to address the reason for the offending such as substance misuse or behavioural/mental health difficulties. If you are given an Outcome 22 it is likely that you will be asked to complete a form of voluntary diversionary, educational or intervention activity.
But how can you persuade the police or CPS to choose to offer an out of court disposal over a criminal prosecution. The key is to engage as soon as possible with the officers in charge of the investigation and persuade them that an OOCD is in the best interests of the child and for public interest.
There are several resources you can use to justify an OOCD which most importantly includes the Child Gravity Matrix. This is a document created by the National Police Chief’s Council which contains various mitigating and aggravating features to various offences and helps guide as to whether prosecution is appropriate or not.
We all make mistakes, we are only human and children are especially vulnerable to making choices and decisions which are rash and impulsive. It is imperative that they are not punished for those actions for the rest of their lives, and that children are given the opportunity to learn, grow and become productive members of society. Avoiding criminalisation is the best way to ensure that they can become exactly that.
Our Criminal Defence team advises on a range of offences. If your matter requires attendance at a police station or court, we’ll guide and represent you through the entire process. We encourage anyone seeking legal advice in this area to contact our team on 0330 822 3451 or request a callback.