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Why is a community sentence given to a young person?

If you are under 18 and found guilty of a first or minor crime, the court will usually give you a community sentence.

Community sentences:

• mean you don’t get locked up at an early age
• give you help to stop committing another crime
• often mean you have to make up for the harm you have caused, like apologising to the victim or repairing any damaged property

The type of community sentence you get will depend on:

• how serious the crime is
• what needs to be done to help stop you getting into trouble again

If you plead guilty, another type of punishment is a reprimand, final warning or Anti-Social Behaviour Order (ASBO).

You can read more about these by following the link ‘What can happen even if a young person is not charged with a crime’ below.

• What can happen if a young person is not charged with a crime

• How sentences for young people are decided

• Young people: going to court after being charged with a crime

Serious crimes

If you are found guilty of a serious crime - like assault - you may be given a sentence that you serve in custody.

• Custodial sentences for young people

Types of community sentences for young people

There are four main community sentences a court can give you.

Fines

You can be given a fine for minor crimes, like not paying a train fare.

If you are under 16 your parents/carers have to pay the fine. The court will consider what they can afford when they decide how much the fine is.

If you are 17 or over, you have to pay the fine. The size of the fine will depend on how serious your crime was, and how much you are able to pay.

You can read more by following the link ‘Court fines’ below.

Referral orders

If it is your first offence and you plead guilty, you could get a referral order.

This means that you will be sent to a youth offender panel, who decide on a sentence that will help stop you offending again. The panel will be made up of two volunteers from your local community and a member of the youth offending team.

You and your parents or carers are involved in agreeing the sentence.

Sometimes the victim is also involved, if suitable.

As part of the sentence you will have to make up for the harm you have caused.

This sentence will last between three and 12 months.

Reparation orders

If you are given a reparation order, you will make up for the harm caused by your crime. For example, the court may order you to:

• repair any damage to the victim’s property
• remove any graffiti from buildings that belong to the public
• take part in ‘mediation’ with the victim - this means you may meet them and have to apologise
  

It usually takes 24 hours to complete a Reparation Order, spread over a number of days.

The Youth Rehabilitation Order

A Youth Rehabilitation Order is made up of different things that you have to do or must not do. The court decides these.

The order can last up to three years.

Every Youth Rehabilitation Order is different and will reflect the type of crime you committed and any needs you might have, like help with a health problem.

So for example, you might have to:

• be at home by a certain time each day (a ‘curfew’)
• stay away from specific places (‘exclusion’)
• be tested for drugs regularly
• get treatment for a drug addiction

If you break the requirements of a Youth Rehabilitation Order you could end up in custody.

• Young people: what happens when serving a community sentence

• Youth offending teams: what they are

• Court fines (crime and justice section)

Other sentences a court can give

As well as things like fines and referral orders, there are other sentences a court can give.

Discharges

For minor crimes, if you are found guilty or admit you are guilty the court could ‘discharge’ you. This is when the court decides that the experience of being arrested and going to court is enough of a punishment.

There are two types of discharge:

• an absolute discharge - no more action is taken, and you can go
• a conditional discharge - no more action is taken unless you commit another crime within a set period of time

Orders that involve your parents

If you get into trouble for truanting or other offences, the local council or police can ask your parents or carers to get involved. This can be done by giving out a local child curfew or child safety order.

Parents can also be given an order to be responsible for their children’s behaviour, and may mean they have to attend a parenting skills programme.

• What can happen to you if your child gets into trouble with the law (parents section)