Youth Justice Statistics
Source: data.gov.uk (2016-01-26)

Annual publication reporting statistics including demographics, remand episodes and behaviour management of young offenders.
Source agency: Justice
Designation: Official Statistics not designated as National Statistics
Language: English
Alternative title: Youth Justice Statistics

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Youth Justice Statistics Glossary  
For further information about the Criminal Justice System please see: 
www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/260147/criminal
-justice-stats-guide-nov-2013.pdf 
Absolute discharge: When the court decides someone is guilty, but decides not to 
punish them further at this time, they will be sentenced to a 'discharge'. Discharges are 
given for minor offences. An 'absolute discharge' means that no more action will be 
taken. 
Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs): Civil orders, designed to prevent someone 
causing ‘harassment, alarm or distress’. They can be issued on application to a court 
by a relevant body (police, local authority etc.) or, since December 2002, they can also 
be issued following conviction for a relevant criminal offence. Breach of an ASBO is a 
criminal offence, punishable by up to five years in prison (two years for juveniles). 
Average custodial sentence length (ACSL): Average length of determinate (fixed 
length) custodial sentences given in months. This excludes indeterminate sentences 
(life or Imprisonment for Public Protection sentences) as the length of these sentences 
is not recorded. 
Example of calculation of average custodial sentence length (ACSL): 
Offenders in four cases are sentenced to immediate custody and the sentence 
lengths handed down are: six months, one year, 18 months and a life sentence. 
The calculation of ACSL excludes the life sentence as this is an indeterminate 
sentence and it is not known how long the offenders will serve in custody. The 
mean is calculated on the remaining three sentences implying the ACSL for 
these offences is: (6+12+18)/3 = 12 months 
Bail Supervision and Support: Bail Supervision and Support (BSS) is an intervention 
provided by the YOT to help a young person meet the requirements of bail. One of its 
main aims is to ensure that remands to custody and secure remands are kept to a 
minimum. The young person may additionally be electronically tagged if it is felt 
necessary. 
Behaviour management: Behaviour management captures the processes and 
policies by which establishments manage challenging and difficult behaviour and 
promote positive behaviour amongst young people in the secure estate. This report 
covers four types of behaviour management;  
1. Assault in the youth secure estate: Assault is defined as “The intentional 
use of unnecessary force that results in physical contact with the victim”. The 
degree of force used is immaterial (e.g. touching, spitting, pushing or striking) 
and physical contact can be by any part of the assailant’s body or bodily fluid or 

 
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by the use or display of any weapon or missile. It is not necessary for the victim 
to suffer injury of any kind. Assaults of a sexual nature are included. 
2. Restrictive Physical Intervention (RPI): A Restrictive Physical Intervention 
is defined as: “Any occasion when force is used with the intention of 
overpowering or to overpower a young person. Overpower is defined as 
“restricting movement or mobility”. 
3. Self harm: Self harm is defined as any act by which a young person 
deliberately harms themselves irrespective of the method, intent, or severity of 
the injury 
4. Single separation: Single separation refers to the confining of a young 
person in custody in their bedroom, to another room or area as a means of 
control and without the young person’s permission or agreement, without a 
member of staff being present and with the door locked in order to prevent exit. 
Breaches: A breach is when a young person fails to comply with the conditions of their 
disposal.  
1. Breach of statutory order or of conditional discharge: is an offence of 
failing (without reasonable excuse) to comply with the requirements of an 
existing statutory order or the conditions of a discharge.  The offence is only 
counted where the failure is proved to the satisfaction of the court and the 
original order is revoked and/or an additional order or other disposal is imposed. 
2. Breach of bail: refers to the offence of absconding by person released on 
bail (Bail Act 1976, S6), but excludes liability to arrest for absconding or 
breaking conditions of bail (Bail Act S7), for which young people cannot be 
sentenced but only remanded in custody or given more restrictive bail 
conditions. 
Burglary: A burglary is a theft from a building. This category has been divided into 
domestic and non-domestic burglary. Domestic burglary is considered to be more 
serious by the courts.  
Caution: A “simple caution” is an out-of-court disposal available for adult offenders. 
The equivalents for young people are reprimands and warnings (see separate entries). 
From April 2011, all cautions data are collected from the Police National Computer. All 
cautions data prior to April 2011 were collected directly from police forces through 
monthly returns. 
From 2009/10 the reporting of conditional cautions was made mandatory, including 
those given to young people aged 16 and 17. This meant from 1st April 2009 all returns 
distinguish conditional cautions from other caution type interventions. In addition Youth 
Conditional Cautions (YCC), for young people aged 16 or 17, were introduced from 1 
April 2009. 
 
Child: The definition of a child in the Children and Young Persons Act 1969 is a person 
under the age of 14. In some cases, in this and other legislation, the definition is a 
person under the age of 18.  
Community sentence: When a court imposes a community sentence, the young 
person doesn't go to prison, but the court says there are specific things the young 
person can, can't and must do while serving their sentence. The magistrate or judge 
will decide which combination of these 'requirements' will most effectively punish the 
young person for their crime, while also reducing the risk of them offending again. 

 
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Examples of a Community Sentence in the Youth Justice System includes; Attendance 
Centre Order, Action Plan Order, Drug Treatment and Testing Order, Curfew Order, 
Supervision Order, Community Rehabilitation Order, Community Punishment Order 
and Community Punishment and Rehabilitation Order. These were replaced by the 
Youth Rehabilitation Order in 2009 (see separate entry). 
Conditional bail: Conditions may be added to a bail decision in order to; 
 
ensure attendance at court; 
 
prevent the young person offending while on bail; 
 
address a concern that the young person might interfere with witnesses or 
obstruct the course of justice; 
 
safeguard the young person’s welfare; 
 
ensure availability for reports; 
 
ensure they attend an appointment. 
The conditions might include not contacting a particular person or entering a particular 
area. The young person may additionally be electronically tagged if it is felt necessary. 
Conditional discharge: When the court decides someone is guilty, but decides not to 
punish them further at this time, they will be sentenced to a 'discharge'. Discharges are 
given for minor offences. A 'conditional discharge' means that the young person won't 
be punished unless they commit another offence within a set period of time (no longer 
than three years). 
Crime: A crime is an action or an instance of negligence that is deemed injurious to the 
public welfare or morals or to the interests of the state and that is legally prohibited.  
An incident is counted as a crime if reported to the authorities and following 
investigation is confirmed as a “crime” and recorded as such. 
Criminal history: A young person is counted as having a criminal history if their PNC 
record shows that, at the time of receiving a youth caution (previously reprimands and 
warnings) or conviction for any offence, they had previously committed one or more 
offences that had resulted in one of these sanctions. The figures relate to cautioning or 
sentencing occasions for offences prosecuted by police forces in England and Wales 
including British Transport Police; they exclude sentences resulting from prosecutions 
brought by other authorities such as the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), 
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and the Ministry of Defence (MOD). The offending 
history of these young people relate to cautioning or sentencing occasions recorded on 
the Police National Computer (PNC) for any offence including summary offences dealt 
with by the police and non-prosecuting bodies. The offending history also includes 
some offences committed outside England and Wales. Where there were multiple 
offences on the same occasion, only the primary offence as recorded on the Police 
National Computer would be counted. 
 
Custodial sentence: Prison sentences are given when an offence is so serious that it 
is the only suitable punishment. A prison sentence will also be given when the court 
believes the public must be protected from the young person. There are three different 
types of prison sentence: suspended sentences, determinate sentences (those having 
a fixed term) and indeterminate sentences (which have only a minimum term and 
include life sentences). 

 
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Detention and Training Order (DTOs): Detention and Training Orders (DTOs) are 
determinate custodial sentences which can last from four months to 24 months in 
length. A young person spends the first half of the order in custody and the second half 
released on licence. Should they offend while on licence, they may be recalled back to 
custody. 
Disposal: Disposal is an umbrella term referring both to sentences given by the court 
and pre-court decisions made by the police. Disposals may be divided into four 
separate categories of increasing seriousness starting with pre-court disposals then 
moving into first-tier and community-based penalties through to custodial sentences. 
Final Warning: A warning is an out-of-court disposal for young offenders. It can be 
used following a reprimand or for a first offence if it is deemed serious enough. 
Following a warning the young person will be referred to the YOT for assessment and 
intervention. Further offending following a warning will normally result in prosecution. 
First-tier penalty: This is an umbrella term used for the following orders made at court: 
bind over, discharges, fines and deferred sentences. 
First Time Entrants to the criminal justice system in England and Wales: First 
time entrants(FTEs) are classified as people resident in England and Wales, who 
received their first youth caution (previously reprimands and warnings) or conviction for 
an offence recorded on the Police National Computer by a police force in England or 
Wales or by the British Transport Police. Penalty notices for disorder, other types of 
penalty notice, cannabis warnings and other sanctions given by the police are not 
counted. The rates of FTEs per 100,000 people in the population are based on Office 
for National Statistics’ mid-year population estimates. Where an offender was 
cautioned or convicted of more than one offence on their first occasion, the offence 
type relates to the principal offence on that occasion, this generally being the most 
serious offence or the offence that attracted the heaviest penalty.  
Intensive Supervision and Surveillance: Intensive Supervision and Surveillance 
(ISS) can be attached to a Youth Rehabilitation Order and has been set as a high 
intensity alternative to custody. ISS combines a set period of electronic tagging with a 
comprehensive and sustained focus on tackling the factors that contribute to the young 
person’s offending behaviour.  
ISS is aimed at young offenders on the custody threshold and has to be considered as 
an option before a custodial sentence in given. ISS may also be attached to conditional 
bail.  
Minimising and Managing Physical Restraint (MMPR): A new system of restraint 
developed for use in Secure Training Centres and under-18 Young Offender 
Institutions. MMPR puts considerable emphasis on using appropriate de-escalation and 
deceleration techniques (non-physical interventions) to ensure that restraint is only 
ever used as a last resort, when no other intervention is possible or appropriate. 
Notifiable offences: Notifiable offences are those offences which require the police to 
record an incident as a crime and report the occurrence to the Home Office.  
Otherwise dealt with: Includes a number of orders, for example hospital orders, 
confiscation orders and compensation orders. 

 
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Parenting orders: Parenting orders under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 were 
implemented across England and Wales on 1 June 2000, and were extended under 
both the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 and Criminal Justice Act 2003. They are made 
against parents and aim to prevent offending and anti-social behaviour by reinforcing 
parental responsibility. 
Penalty Notice for Disorder: A Penalty Notice for Disorder (PND) is an out-of-court 
disposal issued by the police for low-level disorder offences. Available for young people 
aged 16 and over, PNDs can be issued on the spot, providing a quicker means of 
dealing with minor offences and nuisance behaviour. Payment of the penalty amount 
discharges the recipient’s liability to prosecution for the offence. Penalty notices are no 
longer available for persons aged under 18 from 8 April 2013.   
Police National Computer: The Police National Computer (PNC) is the police's 
administrative IT system used by all police forces in England and Wales and managed 
by the National Policing Improvement Agency. As with any large scale recording 
system the PNC is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. The MoJ 
maintains database based on weekly extracts of selected data from the PNC in order to 
compile statistics and conduct research on re-offending and criminal histories. The 
PNC largely covers recordable offences – these are all indictable and triable-either-way 
offences plus many of the more serious summary offences. All figures derived from the 
MoJ's PNC database, and in particular those for the most recent months, are likely to 
be revised as more information is recorded by the police.  
Pre-sentence report: This is a report to the sentencing magistrates or judges 
containing background information about the crime and the defendant and a 
recommendation on the sentence to assist them in making their sentencing decision. 
Primary/Principal offence: Where more than one offence is considered in a court 
case or cautioning occasion, the offence that would/did attract the most severe 
sentencing outcome is deemed to be the principal offence and other offences also 
dealt with in that case would be ignored. If two offences in the same case attract the 
same sentence the offence with the statutory maximum sentence is deemed the 
‘principal offence’. 
Proven offence: A proven offence is defined as an offence which results in the 
offender receiving a reprimand, warning, caution or conviction.  
Recordable offence: Recordable offences are those that the police are required to 
record on the Police National Computer. They include all offences for which a custodial 
sentence can be given plus a range of other offences defined as recordable in 
legislation. They exclude a range of less serious summary offences, for example 
television licence evasion, driving without insurance, speeding and vehicle tax 
offences. 
Triable only on indictment: These offences are the most serious breaches of 
the criminal law and must be tried at the Crown Court before a judge and jury. 
These ‘indictable-only’ offences include murder, manslaughter, rape and 
robbery.  
 
Triable-either-way: These offences may be tried either at the Crown Court or 
at a magistrates’ court. These offences include criminal damage where the 
value is £5,000 or greater, theft, burglary and drink driving. Triable only on 
indictment and triable either way are frequently amalgamated and referred to 
together as indictable offences.  
 
Summary offences: These offences are usually heard only by a magistrates’ 
court. This group is dominated by motoring offences, for some of which fixed 

 
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penalties can be issued, but also includes such offences as common assault 
and criminal damage up to £5,000. 
Referral Order: When a young person pleads guilty to an offence and appears in court 
for the first time, then the court has to make a Referral Order. The only exception to 
this is if the offence is so serious that it could merit a custodial sentence (DTO, section 
90/91, section 226 or section 228) or so minor that a fine or absolute discharge could 
be given. The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) 
introduced changes that apply to sentencing decisions for offences committed from 3 
December 2012. Courts now have power to conditionally discharge a young person 
who pleads guilty to their first offence instead of giving a referral order. The Act also 
allows for repeated use of Referral Orders (i.e. it removes the current restriction) in line 
with the commitment in the 'Breaking the Cycle' green paper to increase the use of 
restorative justice.  
The Referral Order requires the young person to attend a youth offender panel 
consisting of a YOT representative and two lay members. The panel agrees a contract 
with the young person lasting between 3 and 12 months. The contract will include 
reparation and a number of interventions felt suitable for that young person (for 
example, a substance misuse assessment or an anger management programme). If 
completed successfully, the Referral Order is considered a ‘spent’ conviction and need 
not be declared.  
Reparation Order: Reparation Orders require a young offender to undertake 
reparation either directly for the victim or for the community at large (for example, 
cleaning up graffiti or undertaking community work). 
Reprimand: An out-of-court disposal for young offenders. This is the equivalent to an 
adult simple caution. Reprimands and Final Warnings were abolished on 8 April 2013 
by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 and replaced by 
Youth Cautions and Youth Conditional Cautions. Reprimands and Final Warnings are 
reported upon in this publication. 
Remands: Below are descriptions for the different remand types: 
1. Bail Remands: Consists of unconditional and conditional bail. 
2. Community Remand with interventions: Community remands consist of 
the following types of remand decision: bail supervision and support (with or 
without tag), ISSP bail (with or without tag) or remand to local authority 
accommodation (with or without tag).  
3. Custodial remand: If the court is not satisfied that imposing community-
based bail will ensure compliance, or if the offence is serious, or if the young 
person frequently offends, then it may order a young person to be remanded in 
custody.  
Since 3 December 2012, all children remanded to custody are dealt with by way 
of Remand to Youth Detention Accommodation, under the Legal Aid, 
Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. This replaced Remand in 
Custody and Court-Ordered Secure Remand. 
Restorative Justice: Provides opportunities for those directly affected by an offence 
(i.e. victim, offender and members of the community) to communicate and agree how 
to deal with the offence and its consequences. Restorative justice approaches are most 
often used in Referral Orders. A Referral Order’s primary aim is to prevent young 
people reoffending and provide a restorative justice approach within a community 
context. 

 
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Robbery: Robbery is a theft accompanied by force or the threat of force. 
Section 90 of the Criminal Court Sentencing Act (2000): Any young person 
convicted of murder is sentenced under section 90. 
Section 91 of the Criminal Court Sentencing Act (2000): Equivalent to a 
discretionary life sentence, the indeterminate section 91 sentence is for young people 
convicted of an offence other than murder for which a life sentence may be passed on 
an adult. The court shall, if appropriate, sentence a young person to detention for life. 
The court may impose a determinate custodial sentence under section 91 for: 
 
serious, non-specified offences where the maximum sentence as an adult is 14 
years or more. 
 
specified offences where the young person is not determined dangerous. 
Section 226 (detention for life and detention for public protection) of the Criminal 
Justice Act (2003): This is a sentence of ‘detention for public protection’ imposed if the 
court decides that on the basis of the risk presented by the young person an extended 
sentence would be inadequate to protect the public. 
Section 228 of the Criminal Justice Act (2003): For specified offences where the 
young person is assessed as dangerous the court can impose an extended sentence 
for public protection. The extension applies to the licence period and does not affect 
the length of the custodial term. 
Secure Children’s Home (SCH): Secure children’s homes (SCH) in England are run 
by Local Authorities and are overseen by the Department for Education in England. In 
2012/13, the YJB commissioned 166 beds in 10 SCHs (nine in England and one in 
Wales). Hillside SCH in Wales is run by Neath Port Talbot local authority and overseen 
by the Welsh Assembly Government in Wales.  
They generally accommodate remanded or sentenced young people aged 12-14 years 
and girls and ‘at risk’ boys up to the age of 16. They can also accommodate young 
people placed by Local Authorities on welfare matters. 
The SCHs that the YJB commissions range from four to 25 beds and have high staff to 
young person ratios allowing focus on the emotional, physical and mental health needs 
of the young people they accommodate. 
Secure estate: There are three strands of the secure estate. These are: secure 
children’s homes (SCH), secure training centres (STC) and young offender institutions 
(YOI). 
Secure Training Centre (STC): There are four purpose built secure training centres 
(STC) in England offering secure provision to sentenced or remanded young people 
aged 12-17 years. They provide a secure environment where vulnerable young people 
can be educated and rehabilitated. They are run by private operators under contracts 
which set out detailed operational requirements.  
STCs have agreed Minimum Staffing Levels providing a baseline for each type of staff 
at any time, on a day-to-day basis, to ensure safety, security and control.  Broadly 
speaking, staffing levels are three members of custody staff to young people living in a 
group of eight, and two members of custody staff to young people living in a group of 
six. 
Substantive outcome: a pre-court or court disposal.  

 
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Summary offences: These offences are usually heard by a magistrates’ court. This 
group is dominated by motoring offences, for some of which fixed penalties can be 
issued, but also includes offences such as common assault and criminal damage up to 
£5,000. 
Suspended sentence: A court may give an offender a 'suspended' prison sentence if 
the time they would otherwise spend in prison is under 12 months. With a suspended 
sentence, the offender doesn't go directly to prison but they do have to meet conditions 
in the community, set by the court. These conditions can last for up to two years. If the 
offender breaks these conditions, or commits another offence, they will usually have to 
serve the original sentence in prison. 
Theft and handling: Theft is defined as the ‘dishonest appropriation of property 
belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of its use’. If 
it is accompanied by force it is defined as ‘robbery’. This category also includes the 
handling of stolen goods. 
Violence against the person: This category of offences is very broad and 
encompasses all those where an element of violence has occurred. Offences in this 
category range from common assault to murder. 
Young Offender Institution (YOI): Young offender institutions (YOI) can 
accommodate young people and young adults who offend from between the ages of 15 
to 21 years old.  The YJB is only responsible for commissioning secure 
accommodation for young people up to the age of 17 years old. YOIs for under 18s 
hold 15 to 17 year old boys and only 17 year old girls. YOIs tend to be larger sites than 
STCs and SCHs with lower ratios of staff to young people. They are not considered 
appropriate for housing those young people that have been assessed as having higher 
levels of need. The YJB has, however, commissioned smaller specialist YOI units to 
meet the needs of some of those young people. 
Youth Offending Teams (YOTs): Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) are multi-agency 
teams made up of representatives from police, probation, education, health and social 
services, and specialist workers, such as accommodation officers and substance 
misuse workers. YOTs were set up following the 1998 Crime and Disorder Act with the 
intention of reducing the risk of young people offending and re-offending. 
Young person: The definition of a young person in the Children and Young Persons 
Act 1969 is a person over the age of 14 but under 18. In this publication young person 
covers people aged 10-17 years olds.  
Youth Rehabilitation Order (YRO): The Youth Rehabilitation Order (YRO) was 
introduced at the end of November 2009. The YRO provides judges and magistrates 
with a choice of 18 rigorous community options from which they can create a sentence 
specifically designed to deal with the circumstances of the young offender before them. 
There are 18 requirements possible on a YRO, these are; Supervision, Curfew, 
Activity, Unpaid Work, Attendance Centre order, Electronic Monitoring, Programme, 
Education, Exclusion, Drug Treatment, Prohibited Activity, Intoxicating Substance 
Treatment, Residence, Drug Testing, Mental Health Treatment, Intensive Fostering, 
Local Authority Residence and Intensive Surveillance and Supervision.