Court reports
The Court has requested that the Youth Offending Service prepare:
- Pre-Sentence Report
- Specific Sentence Report
- Action Plan Report
- Reparation Order Report
They have asked for this to be done in order to provide the Court with enough information about you to help the Court decide on the most appropriate sentence.
What does it mean?
The report will be prepared by a Youth Offending Service worker who will ask you questions about the offence(s), your home circumstances, background, education / employment and other relevant information. The victim(s) of your offence(s) may be contacted and offered the chance to say how the offence affected them and how you could make amends. No personal details will be given out without yours and your parent(s) / carer(s) consent.
The Youth Offending Service worker will normally want to meet your parents/carers and may contact your school or place of employment and any previous social worker. It is very important that you keep all appointments made for you because this report will help you when you are sentenced.
You will see a copy of the report before you go into Court. If you feel that anything in it is unfair or untrue, you, your parents / carers or your solicitor will be able to say so.
Only those who need to see the report will have access to it. This includes; you, your parent(s)/carer(s), your Solicitor, the Magistrates and Court Clerk, YOS staff and the Crown Prosecution Service. The report will not be read out in Court, although the Magistrates may ask questions or comment on the report.
If you go to a hostel or Young Offenders Institution, a copy of the report will be sent there.
Having read the report on you, the Court has a number of options available. It is likely you will receive one of the following sentences:
- Reparation Order
- Action Plan Order [Apo]
- Supervision Order [SO]
- Community Rehabilitation Order [CRO]
- Community Punishment Order
- Community Punishment And Rehabilitation Order [Cpro] or Combination Order
- Detention And Training Order [DTO]
- Parenting Order
Important
In relation to all these Orders you will be returned to Court [Breached] if you do not co-operate with your Order. If the breach is proved, the Court may then deal with you in some other way, such as:
- Giving you another chance under supervision on the Order
- Returning you to custody if a DTO
- Imposing a fine either on you or your parents [depending on your age]
- Re-sentence you for the original offence