Youth Justice and Court Practice Agreement Final Draft Version 14/3/07

Bromley Magistrates Court Youth Justice Agreement

1. Introduction

This agreement has been drawn up between Bromley Youth Offending Team (YOT), Bromley Magistrates Court, Bromley Commissioning Team, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and SERCO. It will take effect from (insert date) and will be subject to an annual review.

It describes the commitments made by each agency as identified in the National Standards for Youth Justice for reducing delays.

2. Practical Arrangements

The Court will provide the YOT with a youth court list, two days in advance with any ‘extras’ faxed through the day before, if known.

The Court when specifically requesting any psychological/psychiatric reports will state the nature of the report required, who should be responsible for the preparation of this report and make arrangements for the report to be prepared in consultation with the YOT. This does not apply where a solicitor makes the request.

Where an out of area young person appears before Bromley Youth Court the justices will remit the case to the young person’s home court unless it is undesirable to do so.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) will pass a discussion pack to the YOT at the time a report is ordered.

If the CPS does not have an advance information pack available for the YOT, the CPS will assist by facilitating the copying of the relevant documentation.

The Court will provide the YOT with a copy of the Court’s register, recording the Youth Court’s decisions within 5 working days of the original hearing, as far as is possible.

The Court will arrange for the timely provision of the Court documents. Copies of orders will be sent within 10 working days of the order being made. Bail notices, remand warrants and parenting orders will be produced and made available by the court staff to the YOT Court Duty Officer on the day of the hearing.

3. YOT Representation at Court

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On Tuesday and Fridays the YOT will provide one Court Duty Officer plus a Court Administrator to each regular Youth Court sitting. On other days the YOT will provide bail supervision. YOT staff will be present at 9:30 am until the end of Court or 5:00pm whichever is earlier.

Where extra Courts are set up the Court will notify the YOT seven days in advance where practicable. The YOT will not necessarily be present throughout such hearings. However, after any finding of guilt, where reports are requested, the Court should contact the YOT, who will endeavour to attend that same day. In the unlikely event that the YOT is unable to attend the Court will fax through any requests for reports plus any other Court decisions using the form attached at Annex A. The YOT fax number is: 0208 466 3099.

Children and Young People Services, Emergency Duty Team will manage all out of hours enquiries pertaining to the YOT. On week days the service commence at 5.30pm, it can be contacted 0208 464 4848

Children and Young People, Emergency Duty Team will have access to Saturday Court rota and relevant staffing contact details. They can be contacted 0208 464 4848. Cover will need to be provided to Greenwich Court or at whichever court is dealing with Bromley’s custody cases on a Saturday or Bank Holiday.

4. Court Liaison/Communication

4.1 The Courts User Group meeting will be the main forum for multi-agency liaison regarding Bromley Youth Court issues and will meet quarterly as convened by the Bench Legal Manager (BLM) or Bench Office Manager. This is a multi-agency forum and all agencies that have a central role in the Youth Court will be invited.

4.2 The Signatories to the Protocol will oversee implementation of this agreement and Bromley Youth Court Action Plan. In accordance with National Standards the YOT will provide feedback to the Youth Panel on the sentencing patterns of the court.

4.3 Bromley Youth Court panel meetings are attended by Bromley Youth Panel and Legal Advisers. The YOT and other relevant agencies will be invited to attend the non-confidential part of these meetings, when considered necessary.

4.4 The Bench Legal Manager or representative will attend Bromley YOT Executive Board meetings. 5. Facilities at Court

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5.1 The Court will provide access to a room for use by the YOT for interviewing and other tasks requiring completion at court.

6. Equal Opportunities/ Human Rights

6.1 The arrangements described in this agreement are designed to be free of discrimination on the ground of race, gender, age, disability, language, ability, literacy, religion, sexual orientation or any other improper grounds.

Review of Protocol

This will take place on an annual basis and be undertaken jointly by the Borough Crown Prosecutor, Bench Legal manager and the YOT Manager.

Signed on Behalf of CPS ………………………… Tim Thompson District Crown Prosecutor

Signed on Behalf of Bromley Magistrates Court: ………………………… Valerie Morgan Bench Legal Manager

Signed on behalf of the YOT …………………………. Merlin Joseph Assistant Director of Children & Young People Services

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Practice Agreement

Between

Bromley YOT, Bromley Commissioning Team And Bromley Magistrate Court

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1. Bail Information and Supervision

1.1 Bail supervision information will be available in cases where there may be objections to unconditional bail. The aim of bail supervision is to provide support to the young person during their period of bail to ensure they surrender to bail and do not reoffend on bail.

1.1 The YOT Bail Support Officer or the YOT Court Duty Officer will make an assessment on these young people. This assessment will be undertaken using the Youth Justice Board Bail Asset profile. Liaison will take place as appropriate with the CPS, defence lawyers and the Legal Adviser.

1.2 Written consent to any Bail Supervision Programme will be sought from the young person and parent (if appropriate).

1.3 In most cases where the above has taken place on the day of the court hearing a bail programme will be offered verbally/written to the court which will clearly identify those elements suitable as conditions of bail.

1.4 Failure by the young person to comply with the conditions of the bail supervision will lead to the defendant being reported to the police for action within six hours of being informed of the breach.

1.5 Where the YOT considers the court may contemplate a remand to Local Authority Accommodation, they will attempt to locate a placement in advance of the court appearance. If no remand placement is available the YOT is reliant on Children and Young People Services making an alternative placement to the YOT. This will allow the Bail Support Officer to make enquiries at the earliest opportunity.

1.6 In any event all the youth justice agencies will prioritise all defendants under 18 held in the court’s cells, so far as is practicable.

1.7 Bromley Police will ensure overnight custody remands are brought to Bromley Magistrates Court by 9:15am. At 9:00am the Duty Officer at the YOT will contact Bromley Police on a daily basis to confirm details of defendants held overnight.

1.8 Between Monday and Friday, Bromley Police should advise Bromley Magistrates Court of any defendant arrested, charged and denied bail prior to 12 noon to arrange a hearing the same day. It is the responsibility of Bromley Police to ensure all relevant papers are forwarded to the CPS by 2pm for any application to be heard that same day.

1.9 Judicial Advisors will ensure the court list and the position of young people held in cells is reviewed by 1130am and 230pm where appropriate.

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The YOT will provide the Commissioning Team with all specific requirements of the Bail Support and Supervision Programme at the time of referral to ensure that proposed placements and/or support services meet the court agreed conditions.

There a young person meets the requirements for ISSP this will be organised by the YOT.

1. Remands to Secure Accommodation

2.1 If the court is considering remanding a young person to the Secure Estate they should request the YOT make an assessment, if this has not already taken place. In the case of 15/16 year olds this should include an assessment of vulnerability, which may lead to a recommendation that the defendant be remanded to local authority secure accommodation rather than the prison service establishment.

2.2 Once it has been identified that a remand resource has been identified the YOT will contact the Commissioning Team to inform them of this and provide basic details of the client as well as sending over a completed copy of the Home Office/ Youth Justice Board (YJB) assessment tool (ASSET).

2.3 When a secure remand is imminent, the YOT will inform the Commissioning Team and the Duty Manager of the Assessment Team, (or the relevant Group Manager if the case is already open) as early as possible. This will enable the Commissioning Team to identifying potential resources with vacancies for remand placements.

2.4 The YOT will undertake the necessary negotiations with the Youth Justice Board, which is responsible for designating and authorising placements. This includes transportation. For the purpose of a court ordered secure remand, these responsibilities are placed on the YOT and are set out in paragraphs below.

2.5 A YOT Officer will request that the court stand the case down when they are mindful to make a court ordered secure remand so that the following arrangements can be made:

 A placement identified by the Youth Justice Board  Contact made with a secure escort agency arranging for transportation.  Completion of a post court report to establish the risk of self-harm or suicide.

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2.6 Once the remand has been made, SERCO has no authority to detain the defendant, who will be the responsibility of the YOT.

2.7 The YOT will be responsible for ensuring that the designated escort has copies of all appropriate information to accompany the defendant to the receiving establishment.

2.8 It is critical when determining a placement that due consideration is given to the following:

 Young person attending court for further hearings  Young person attends the YOT office for regular sessions with a caseworker  Carer monitoring of any curfew (which may include tagging)  Monitoring of educational attendance  Assessment appointments in respect of substance misuse  Assessment appointments in respect of mental health issues  Specific conditions such as association with peers, geographic exclusions, etc.

2. Remands to Prison of 15-17 year olds

3.1 Young people remanded into prison will be seen by an appropriate YOT Officer for completion of the post-court report. Any vulnerability information regarding the potential for self-harm should be clearly indicated so that prison procedures will be triggered. The YOT Officer is responsible for passing this and other relevant information to SERCO within one hour of the disposal of the case, who will ensure that this documentation accompanies the defendant to the relevant YOI.

3.2 For the purposes of a remand into prison the defendant remains the responsibility of SERCO, or whichever company holds the relevant contract.

4. Electronic Monitoring

4.1 In cases where the proposed use of tagging is for young people already accommodated or who may be in the Care of Local Authority Accommodation, the consent to tagging being used at the proposed address must be obtained, where appropriate from the parent/carer, residential unit, Commissioning Team and Social Worker.

4.2 It is the responsibility of the Commissioning Team and Social Worker to confirm their consent in writing to the YOT within 24 hours (see consent form for electronic monitoring).

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4.3 It is the YOT’s responsibility to ensure that the details of the electronic monitoring contract are forwarded to the relevant Social Worker and Placement at the Placement Planning meeting.

4.4 Should it be necessary for an emergency change of placement to be made by Children and Young People Service or Emergency Duty Team (EDT) details of the new placement will be faxed to the YOT, Bromley Police Station and the monitoring contractor by the named Social Worker as soon as possible and in any event no later than 24 hours after the change of placement has been made.

5. Transport

5.1 Where a young person is being transported to and from court from their place of residence by a carer, it is important to ensure that the driver (or unit car) has appropriate travel insurance and the young person is provided with an appropriate escort.

5.2 Young people under 15 years of age who have been given a Court Ordered Secure Remand (COSR), can only be transported by Youth Justice Board/Home Office approved escorts to and from court. The police have no duty to detain a young person following a court hearing if the young person has been given bail, Remand to Local Authority or COSR.

5.3 The Commissioning Team via the Placement Panel will be responsible for funding escorts to and from subsequent court hearings. The production and arrangement of escorts for subsequent remand hearing and sentencing will be conducted by the YOT in consultation with the Commissioning Team.

5.4 There is additional pressure, therefore, to ensure that arrangements are in place at the end of the court session, otherwise the young person may be released from the cells back into the community.

5.5 Recommended transport and escort providers are Streetwise (based in Croydon) and Wrixons (based in Hertfordshire).

6. Reports for Court

Stand-down Reports

6.1 In order to avoid unnecessary delay, the YOT will provide the court with a recent existing report, together with the stand down report to provide additional information, in appropriate cases. The existing report should not be more than three months old. The justices can then decide whether they wish to request a fresh report.

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Specific Sentence Reports for Reparation Orders

6.2 A specific sentence report (SSR) is a limited enquiry into an offender’s suitability for a specific sentence that has been provisionally identified by the court as appropriate.

6.3 SSRs are prepared on the same day as the request and will only apply to first time offenders, where there is commercial/corporate victim and the court proposes to make a Reparation Order.

6.4 The YOT will provide an SSR within two hours of the request. Reports requested before 11:00am will be available during the morning session and by 3:00pm within the afternoon session. In most circumstances reports requested after 3:00pm will be available for the next available youth court dependant on staff availability. This will commence from July 2007.

6.5 If the YOT Officer believes an Action Plan Order or a full Pre-Sentence Report (PSR) is required, the basis for such a conclusion should be explained.

6.6 An Attendance Centre Order does not require a report although courts may feel that the alternative of Reparation or Action Plan Orders should be investigated in any case where an Attendance Centre Order might be appropriate.

6.7 In general, SSRs will not be appropriate:

 Where the offender appears to be suffering from mental health problems.  Where the offender has a drug dependency that will impact on the success of any order.

Reparation and Action Plan Order Reports

6.8 The court may request a Reparation Report or Action Plan Order (APO) Report when it considers these orders to be a suitable disposal. These reports will be prepared in line with the National Standards timescale (within 15 days).

6.9 The responsible officer for APOs will attend court review hearings.

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Pre-Sentence Reports

6.10 It is envisaged that a PSR will be requested in cases where the offence is of a more serious nature and there is a likelihood the offender has complex offending related needs that cannot be addressed within the duration of an Action Plan Order. In addition the offender presents such a risk of harm to the public as to require long-term supervision and/or is at risk of receiving a Detention and Training Order (DTO).

6.11 PSRs are reports in writing made with a view of assisting the court in determining the most suitable method of dealing with an offender.

6.12 The YOT will prepare PSRs in line with the National Standards timescale (within 15 working days of the request for non-persistent young offenders. In regard to persistent young offenders, the following arrangements will apply:

 If the persistent young offender is previously known to Bromley YOT the report will be prepared within 10 working days.  If for some reason the persistent young offender is not previously known to the YOT and there is no background information, then 10 working days will be allowed for the report.

6.13 In cases where a Persistent Young Offender appears before the Court and the Court are minded to sentence the YOT will provide a copy of the most recent PSR (if written within the last 3 months).

6.14 If an out of borough PYO appears before Bromley Youth Court for sentencing Bromley YOT must contact the home YOT and obtain a copy of the most recent PSR and arrange for this to be faxed to the YOT Court Duty Officer.

6.15 The YOT will produce a PSR according to National Standards. YOT will endeavour to include information about the views of the victim and the impact the offence has had relevant information from the school or other education provider and a parenting assessment with advice as to the need for any intervention.

6.16 When requesting a PSR the court should give a preliminary indication of seriousness by stating clearly if it considers the matters before it are serious enough to warrant a community penalty or so serious that the custody will be considered. Specific assessments may also be indicated (eg: Community Punishment Order, Curfew Order and specified activities). This will enable the report writer to tailor the report and include the appropriate assessments.

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6.17 Where it has not been possible to complete a PSR as a young person withholds his/her consent through missing appointments, the PSR author will send the court a written statement as to why the report was not completed. The YOT will also indicate whether alternative arrangements have been made to interview the defendant.

6.18 The YOT will fax requests for out of area reports to the relevant YOT on the day of the request or the following day. In the case of remittals for sentence the CPS will provide a copy of the Advance Information to the YOT Officer who in turn will forward such to the home YOT within 24 hours of the courts decision.

6.19 The CPS pre-sentence information documentation will be requested by the YOT on the day the report is requested. In the unlikely event of this not being available on the day, the CPS will serve the bundle on the YOT within 2 working days of the request.

Sentence Reports Quality Audits

6.20 Periodic PSR quality audits will be carried out by the YOT in accordance with the YOT Reports Quality Assurance Programme and the results of such exercise will be provided to the Youth Panel to assist in promoting high standards of assessment.

7. Reparation Orders

7.1 When producing a report for a Reparation Order, the YOT will always explore the possibility of direct reparation with the victim. Where this has been possible and agreed it will be indicated in the report. Where this has not been possible reparation to the community at large will be proposed.

7.2 Where direct reparation to the victim is still being negotiated the report will suggest that the court make the order to undertake reparative activities as directed by the responsible officer.

8. Community Based Orders

8.1 Any proposal for an Action Plan Order (APO) will set out the issues to be addressed and in broad terms the action proposed for dealing with them. This information should satisfy the court that the proposed action is suitable to meet the identified needs, comply with legislation and is proportionate to the seriousness of the offence(s).

8.2 A responsible officer will be identified in all reports where an APO is proposed.

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8.3 The option of an Attendance Centre Order remains as before.

8.4 Supervision Orders will be held by the YOT. The court has the power to attach a requirement to undertake reparation to the Supervision Order. An outline supervision plan will be submitted to the court where the PSR is proposing a Supervision Order to be the most suitable option; this will also address the appropriateness of attaching a reparative element.

8.5 The court still has the power to order a range of other additional requirements including specified activities. This is an intensive order with a high restriction of liberty and will be used for the most serious cases at the threshold of custody.

8.6 Community Rehabilitation Orders for 16 and 17 year olds will continue to be provided and managed on behalf of the YOT by the Probation Service.

8.7 Community Punishment and Rehabilitation Orders and Community Punishment Orders will be held by the YOT. Particular attention should be given to the stage of development and maturity of the defendant when considering these orders that will be outlined in the PSR.

8.8 Curfew Orders are available and are monitored by electronic tagging. Assessment for tagging is available for young people who are sentenced or are on bail.

8.9 All community based orders will be managed in accordance with the relevant National Standards and Home Office guidance.

9. Detention and Training Orders

9.1 The YOT will make the necessary arrangements with the Youth Justice Board to identify a placement if a DTO is a probable disposal.

9.2 The YOT will interview all young people sentenced to a DTO before they are transported to establish any enhanced risk of suicide or self harm. This information will be shared with the escort and receiving establishment through the post-court report and Asset vulnerability information.

9.3Young people aged 15 to 17 sentenced to a DTO will be detained by staff from SERCO and transferred to a receiving establishment. The YOT will provide all necessary paperwork to the escort, except for the warrant which is prepared by the court.

9.4 When a young person under 15 is sentenced to a DTO staff from SERCO remain responsible for detaining the young person until collected by an escort company arranged by the Youth Justice Board. The YOT will provide

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all necessary paperwork to the escort except for the warrant which is prepared by the court.

10. Parenting Orders

10.1 Whenever a report is requested the YOT will undertake an assessment on all parents using the tools produced by the Trust for the Study of Adolescence on behalf of the Youth Justice Board.

10.2 Where a Parenting Order is made a responsible officer will be identified. Parenting Orders will be managed according to National Standards and Home Office guidance.

10.3 A hard copy of the Parenting Order should be sent to the YOT Admin team once the order has been made.

11. Monitoring and Review of Orders

11.1 The YOT will work with the Magistrates Court to provide information on the general progress of magistrates sentencing decisions. This will include a summary of community based orders and the rehabilitation period of DTOs completed.

12. Enforcement of Orders and Warrants

12.1 The YOT will be responsible for the application of summonses or warrants for the purpose of breach proceedings in community sentences made in the Youth Court.

12.2 Where the information is laid by the YOT for enforcement they will prepare the summons for issue by the court. At the time of applying for a warrant the YOT will have completed a warrant to be to be signed by the court and used by the court’s Civilian Enforcement Officers.

12.3 New orders with shorter lengths (ie: Reparation and Action Plan Orders) will require listing of breaches within 10 working days of the issue of the summons.

12.4 The YOT will present the facts relating to the breach in a standard written format, together with a written progress report with suggestions for further action, the original sentencing report, the facts of the original offence and any record of findings of guilt.

12.5 Where a young person fails to appear in court and contact details are available, the YOT will endeavour to establish the reason for non- attendance and inform the court.

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12.6 Warrants issued for non-attendance will be clearly identified as a youth or PYO for police to take prompt action.

12.7 In line with National Standards breach action will be initiated within 10 days of the issue of the summons. If failure to comply suggests an enhanced risk of serious harm to self or others in such cases the YOT may take breach action within one working day.

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Review of Practice Procedures

This will take place on an annual basis and be undertaken jointly by the Head of Crown Prosecution Service, Children’s Commissioning Manager, Clerk for Courts Justice, and the YOT Manager.

Signed on Behalf of Crown Prosecution Service ………………………… Tim Thompson District Crown Prosecutor

Signed on Behalf of Bromley Magistrates Court: ………………………… Valerie Morgan Bench Legal Manager

Signed on behalf of the YOT …………………………. Merlin Joseph Assistant Director of Children & Young People Services

Signed on behalf of the Commissioning Team ………………………….. Ruth Wood Commissioning Manager, Children & Young People Serrvices

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