Juvenile warnings

Section 65-66 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 brought in a new system of pre-court actions aimed at diverting children and young people (10-17) from their offending behaviour before they entered the court system.

The final warning scheme replaced the police cautioning system for juveniles. The aim of the system is to end repeat cautioning and to provide progressive and effective interventions to prevent re-offending.

Reprimand

A Reprimand is a formal verbal warning given by a police officer to a young person who admits they are guilty of a minor first offence. Sometimes the young person can be referred to the Youth Offending Team (YOT) to take part in a voluntary programme to help them address their offending behaviour.

Final Warning

A Final Warning is a formal verbal warning given by a police officer to a young person who admits their guilt for a first or second offence. The final warning triggers an automatic referral to the YOT where the young person is assessed to determine the causes of their offending behaviour and a programme of activities is identified to address them.

Both the Reprimand and Final Warning are designed to divert young people from the criminal justice system. If they do go to court for a further offence the court will take the Reprimand and Final Warning into account when deciding on the appropriate sentence for the offence. The court may only in exceptional circumstances give a conditional discharge if a Final Warning has been given within the last two years.

Further Information

You can obtain further information from the following:

ASB Unit, Blyth Valley Housing, Dinsdale House, 75 Marine Terrace, Blyth NE24 2LN.

Telephone: ASB Unit Hotline 01670 542060

RNID Typetalk service prefix number 18001

EMail: Anti-Social Behaviour Unit