YOT Referral Orders

 A Court must make a Referral Order if the following conditions are met:

• the young person has admitted the offence
• it is the first time the young person has been convicted at court; and
• the offence is not so minor as to warrant a Discharge or so serious as to warrant a custodial sentence.

with a minimum of 3 months and a maximum of 12.

A Referral Order can last from three to 12 months and requires a young person to attend a Youth Offender Panel made up of two trained community members and an officer from the Youth Offending Team. The young person's parents are requested to attend and any victim (or a representative) of the young person's offence(s) may also attend.

Any young person made subject to a Referral Order will normally be contacted within one working day. The first Panel meeting should normally be convened within 20 working days.

The Panel receives a report from the YOT, listens to the victim's views, and discusses the offence with the young person and their parents. They then draw up a two part contract. The first part looks at how the young person can make some reparation or amends for their offence. The second part sets out a programme of activities designed to address their offending behaviour which the young person must undertake.

Helplines

Further information is available from the YOT, McLintocks Building, Crookes Street, Barnsley, S70 6BX.

The YOT is open 9.00am to 5.00pm. However, referral Order Panels and some reparation and offending behaviour programme activities will take place outside normal office hours.

Colin Barnes
YOT Manager
Telephone: 01226 774986
Email: colinbarnes@barnsley.gov.uk

Legislation

Referral Orders were established under the powersof Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000

Related Links:

• The Youth Justice Board