Youth offending - referral orders

Youth offending - referral orders

When can a Referral Order be given?

A Referral Order (RO) can be given by the court to a young person aged 10-17 years, pleading guilty and convicted by the court. Courts can make a referral order where:

• there are no previous convictions
• there is one previous conviction and an RO was not given
• in exceptional circumstances on the Youth Offending Services (YOS) recommendation a second referral order can be given

Courts also have the power to:

• Discharge RO's early for good progress
• Extend the RO contract period for up to three months following a panel referral - e. g. for not keeping to a contract

What is a Referral Order?

A referral order can be for between three and twelve months.  The length is decided by the court. The young person is then referred to a Youth Offender Panel. What has to be done is decided by the panel which consists of two community volunteers and a member of the YOS.

The order starts when a contract is agreed at the first panel meeting. The contract should include: reparation to the victim and/or the wider community; and an intervention programme to prevent re-offending. All discussions at the Panel meeting are private.

After the first Panel meeting, progress meetings will be held to check that the agreed contract is being kept to. A named YOS officer will have regular contact with the young person who is expected to attend scheduled appointments regularly throughout the order.

What happens when the order is completed?

When the order has been completed the conviction will be "spent". This means that in most circumstances there is no need to tell anyone about it nor will most people have the right to know about it (certain types of jobs are excempt from this, for example working with children). This makes the Referral Order different from other court orders as they are fnished for good when they are completed.