Custodial sentences
A Detention and Training Order is a Custodial Sentence imposed by the Court for persistent or serious offending.
It can last between four and twenty four months. Half of the sentence is served in a secure establishment and half under supervision on licence by your YOS workers.
The young person will spend half of their sentence in Custody and half in the Community under supervision by their Youth Offending Service worker.
Each young person will be given regular Visiting Orders [V.O’s] which they complete and send out to the people they want to visit them. Please make sure that you bring the completed Order with you each time you visit your young person.
What does it mean?
The young person will be escorted to the Secure Establishment very soon after Sentencing. As a result of the pressure of work on a Court day on the staff, it is not usual for parent(s)/carer(s) to be given the opportunity to see the young person before they leave on their journey.
It also takes time for Visiting Orders [V.O’s] to be prepared, but if you telephone the Establishment and explain the situation, e.g. newly sentenced, the staff may be able to post you an emergency V.O. to enable you to visit within a few days.
A detailed plan for what is going to be done during the Order will be agreed with you and your young person at a Sentence Planning Meeting within ten days. This is called a Training Plan. The Plan will be reviewed every month.
A final meeting, called a Pre-Release Meeting, will be held within 10 days of the planned release date for your young person. At this meeting a contract outlining what will be expected of your young person within the community will be drawn up. This contract is called a Licence and these conditions must be kept to by the young person or they will be returned to Court under Breach Proceedings and may be returned to the Establishment to serve further time.
What part do I play in the Order?
Under a Detention and Training Order you will be asked to:
- Attend meetings as required within the Establishment. These meetings will draw up a
- Plan of work with your young person and review any progress.
- Work with the Youth Offending Service worker on ensuring that your young person co-operates with the plans drawn up and the efforts on their behalf
- Allow the Youth Offending Service worker to visit you at home in respect of the plans for the release of your young person and after their release
- Carry out any other things you have agreed to do
- Encourage your young person to act responsibly whilst on supervision in your community and when attending for appointments
What else can I be asked to do?
You will receive Visiting Orders [V.O’s] from your young person allowing you to visit them regularly outside of any planned meetings.
Who will help me?
Your young person will have an allocated Youth Offending Service worker who will be happy to speak with you about any questions you may have or advise on any problems.
There is an Assisted Visits Scheme, which helps all parents traveling to Custodial Establishments. Your Youth Offending Service worker can give you more information about how to access this assistance.
What can go wrong?
If your young person does not co-operate within the establishment, they may be punished with; loss of privileges, time in segregation or in certain circumstances, having additional days added to the period in custody.
If your young person does not co-operate with their Youth Offending Service worker they will be taken back to Court for being in breach of the Detention and Training Order.
If the breach is proved, the Court may then deal with them in some other way, such as:
- Detain them in Custody for a period of three months or until the end of the Order, whichever is the shorter
- Impose a fine
What if they do well?
If the Order is for more than eight months they may be released up to two months early depending on their progress. If they are considered for early release, they would need to agree to be ‘tagged’ and subject to electronic monitoring. You as parent(s) /carer(s) would have to agree to the installation of the equipment and sign the form at the Pre-Release meeting.