Transaction Search Form: please type in any of the fields below.
Date: April 29, 2024 Mon
Time: 10:38 pm
Time: 10:38 pm
Results for anti-social behaviour orders
1 results foundAuthor: Hart, Di Title: Into the Breach: The Enforcement of Statutory Orders in the Youth Justice System Summary: This report summarises the findings of a project concerning children under the age of 18 who are in breach of their anti-social behaviour or criminal justice order. The aim of the project was to increase our understanding of the way statutory orders are enforced and to make recommendations for change. Children who fail to comply with the conditions of a statutory order may be returned to court and sentenced for the breach, regardless of whether they have committed further offences or anti-social acts. Youth offending teams (YOTs) are expected to bring breach proceedings after three instances of non-compliance with a youth justice order, although there is management discretion to depart from this in exceptional circumstances. Where a child is subject to an anti-social behaviour order (ASBO), however, there is a presumption that every instance of breach will be prosecuted. The courts have a range of options open to them when considering their response but sentencing guidelines state that sentencers are not obliged to impose a punitive penalty even if the breach is proved, and custody is meant to be a last resort. Little research has been done on the impact of enforcement but there is some evidence that action to achieve compliance does not necessarily have a positive effect on reconviction rates. Although reconviction rates amongst children are reducing, those subject to the greatest level of intervention, such as intensive community orders or custody, remain the most likely to be reconvicted. Some commentators have also stressed the importance of distinguishing between superficial compliance and real engagement, where the person being supervised is genuinely committed to the purpose of the order even if they do not manage to fully comply. There is some evidence to suggest that the children who have the most difficulty in complying with the conditions of their order are not the most serious offenders but those who offend persistently, often strongly associated with disadvantage. In relation to breach offences, some children may have difficulty in understanding what is required of them or be living such chaotic lives that they cannot comply. Data published by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and Youth Justice Board (YJB) suggests that breach of statutory order now constitutes 6% of all proven offences, double the proportion in 2002/03. There is currently no available data on the proportion of total orders that are breached, except for Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programmes (ISSP), about one third of which have resulted in breach action, and ASBOs, where 68% of all those given to children since 2000 have been breached. Most likely to be returned to court for breach of a statutory order are older boys, and those of mixed ethnicity. Breach offences, however, account for a disproportionate number of younger children, girls and those of white ethnicity in custody. There are also regional variations in the use of breach proceedings. Around 20% of children in custody have been found guilty of a breach offence and in 2009/10 an average of 9% of children were in custody solely for breach of a statutory order, usually a community sentence. There are gaps and discrepancies in the data that make analysis difficult. It would be particularly useful to be able to analyse the relationship between enforcement activity and reoffending. Details: London: Prison Reform Trust, 2011. 83p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 7, 2011 at: http://www.prisonreformtrust.org.uk/Portals/0/Documents/Into%20the%20Breach.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.prisonreformtrust.org.uk/Portals/0/Documents/Into%20the%20Breach.pdf Shelf Number: 123006 Keywords: Anti-Social Behaviour OrdersJuvenile Offenders (U.K.)Juvenile Probation |