Children and Young People in Custody (Part 1): Entry into the youth justice system Contents

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2Overview of the current youth justice system

7.The current youth justice system was established by the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. The Act set out to change the way the system works in England and Wales and established a statutory aim:1 “to prevent offending by children and young persons”. The system differs from the adult system, as set out below.

Youth Offending Teams

8.The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 introduced a requirement that local authorities must establish a Youth Offending Team (YOT) comprised of members of the police, social services, probation, health and education. YOTs, to:

• assist police with out-of-court disposals and arrange for appropriate adults to be present during police questioning;
• provide reports and information required by the courts in criminal proceedings against children and young people; and
• supervise children and young people serving a community sentence and/or released from custody.

9.According to HM Inspectorate of Probation, “Youth Offending Teams supervise 10–18 year olds who have been sentenced by a court, or who have come to the attention of the police because of their offending behaviour but have not been charged - instead, they were dealt with out of court. YOTs also work with young people who have not committed a crime, but are at particular risk of doing so.”2

Youth Courts

10.Youth courts are a type of magistrates’ court for people aged between 10 and 17. They deal with cases such as theft and burglary, anti-social behaviour and drug offences. For serious crimes such as murder or rape, the case starts in the youth court but will be passed to a Crown Court. The youth court can give a range of sentences including community sentences and Detention and Training Orders (carried out in secure centres for young people). The sentencing options available are set out later in this report.

Custody

11.When a child or young person is remanded or sentenced to custody, the Youth Custody Service within Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS),3 decides where they should be placed. This will be either at a secure training centre (STC), a secure children’s home (SCH) or, for boys aged 15–18 only, at a young offender institution (YOI).4

• Secure Training Centres (STCs): Smaller purpose-built establishments designed to accommodate between 60–80 boys and girls aged 12–17. STCs have a higher staff-to-child ratio than YOIs and are used to accommodate young people who are more vulnerable. Until recently, there were three STCs: Oakhill, Rainsbrook and Medway. Oakhill is run by MTC Novo and Rainsbrook by G4S. Medway was run by G4S but was returned to the public sector in 2016. In 2018, the Ministry of Justice announced that the first secure school would be opened at Medway, where the STC would close and the site be used as a secure school. The STC closed in March 2020.
• Secure Children’s Homes (SCHs): Created by the Children Act 1989. SCHs have a higher ratio of staff to children and are small facilities of between 7 to 38 beds. They are designed to accommodate boys and girls aged 10–17 who are assessed as being particularly vulnerable. There are currently 8 SCHs in England and Wales that detain children on justice grounds. They are operated by Local Authorities. The Department for Education, rather than the MoJ, has responsibility for SCHs.
• Young Offender Institutions: Established by the Criminal Justice Act 1998. They are run according to rules set out in a Statutory Instrument, the Young Offender Institution Rules 2000, and by relevant Prison Service Instructions, in particular, PSI 08/2012 ‘Care and Management of Young People’.5 There are five YOIs in England and Wales for boys aged under 18: Cookham Wood, Feltham, Parc, Werrington, Wetherby (including the Keppel Unit). Parc is run by G4S and all other YOIs are run by HMPPS.

12.YOIs and STCs are inspected by HM Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP), jointly with Ofsted (Estyn in Wales) and the Care Quality Commission (or the Healthcare Inspectorate Wales in Wales). HMIP leads inspections of YOIs. Ofsted leads inspections of STCs. Ofsted regulates and inspects children’s social care services, including SCHs.6

The Youth Justice Board and Youth Custody Service

13.The Youth Justice Board (YJB) is an executive non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Ministry of Justice, responsible for overseeing the youth justice system in England and Wales. Its primary function is to monitor the operation of the system and the provision of services. Its primary responsibilities include (but are not limited to):

• advising the Secretary of State for Justice and those working in the youth justice services about how well the system is operating and how improvements can be made;
• commissioning research and publishing information in connection with good practice;
• making grants, with the approval of the Secretary of State, for the purposes of the operation of the youth justice system and services; and
• monitoring the youth justice system and the provision of youth justice service.7

14.The Youth Custody Service was established in 2017, as a distinct service within HMPPS.8 Before the youth custody service was created, the Youth Justice Board was responsible for the placement of children into custody and held commissioning responsibility for secure services; delivery rested, as now, with other organisations. The Youth Custody Service is now responsible for placement of children into custody and delivery of secure services (such as secure children’s homes, secure escorts, secure training centres, and young offender institutions).9