| Section
1.
Young Offenders
|
1.1.1 In general, the term ‘young offender’ applies to a child who has committed an offence and is 10 or over
but under18 years old.1.1.2 Special considerations apply when making the decision to prosecute young offenders. Every court,
whether adult or youth, has a statutory requirement to consider the welfare of any young person brought
before it. Once sufficient evidence is available to show a criminal offence has been committed,
consideration must be given as to whether a prosecution is needed in the public interest.1.1.3 The discretion of the CPS to continue or discontinue proceedings is subject to judicial review
but only where it can be shown that the decision was made regardless of, or contrary to, any statutory
requirements or other guidelines, eg on reprimands or final warnings, and the Code for Crown Prosecutors.
For this reason all information which has been considered in reaching the decision to prosecute must be
included in the ‘Young Offender’ section of the MG1.
1.1.4 Files involving young offenders should be prepared and submitted in the same format as adult files following
the guidance set out elsewhere in the Manual. Regard should be had to any targets (see paragraph 1.2.2)
or statutory time limits then in force with respect to young and persistent young offenders. See below for
the special considerations which apply to persistent young offenders.1.1.5 Proceedings involving young offenders must be heard initially in the youth court, but the following
exceptions may affect the court to which a young offender is bailed or summonsed:
(i) if jointly charged with an adult, the case shall be heard in the adult court;1.1.6 In the case of a joint charge involving an adult where the adult is already charged and a decision is(ii) if charged with an offence, where an adult has been charged at the same time with aiding, abetting, counselling, procuring, causing, allowing or permitting that offence, or conversely, the adult has been charged with the offence and the young offender has been charged with aiding, abetting, counselling, procuring, causing, allowing or permitting that offence, the case may be heard in the adult court;
(iii) if charged with an offence arising out of circumstances which are the same as, or connected with, those giving rise to an offence with which an adult is charged at the same time, the case may be heard in the adult court;
(iv) if brought before the adult court for remand purposes only, the court has power to deal with applications for bail or remand, even if the case does not fall within exceptions (i)-(iii).
subsequently made to charge the young offender, it is important to ensure that cases involving the
young offender and the adult are joined as soon as possible. They should not be split off into the youth
court after charge or summons.
1.1.7 It is no longer necessary to prove ‘Doli Incapax’. Evidence that a young person knew what they were
doing was seriously wrong should, however, be included where available as it may be relevant to the
sentence.Such evidence may be obtained from:
1.2.1 A persistent young offender is defined as a young person aged 10 to 17 years who has been sentenced by
criminal court in the United Kingdom on three or more separate occasions for one or more recordable
offences, and within three years of the last sentencing occasion is subsequently arrested or has an
information laid against him for a further recordable offence.
1.2.2 In recognising the importance of dealing speedily with persistent young offenders the following targets were
set by a joint Home Office, Lord Chancellor’s Department circular in 1998.
| Cases dealt with in the Youth Court | Cases dealt with in the Crown Court | |||
| Arrest to charge |
2 days
|
Arrest to charge |
2 days
|
|
| Charge to first appearance |
7 days
|
Charge to first appearance |
7 days
|
|
| First appearance to start of trial |
28 days
|
First appearance to committal to Crown Court |
28 days
|
|
| Verdict to sentence |
14 days
|
Committal to PDH at Crown Court |
14 days
|
|
| PDH to start of Crown Court trial |
28 days
|
|||
| Verdict to sentence |
14 days
|
|||
1.2.4 Any locally agreed fast track schemes must comply with the above targets.
1.25 In order to prevent unnecessary remand applications,
case files for PYOs should contain an MG10 wherever
possible,
for example, where the availability of all, or at least the key, prosecution
witnesses is known at the early
hearing
stage. Difficulties in setting dates at a first appearance contribute considerably
to the slowing down of the
prosecution
process.
Contents
| Section
2.
Pre-file
submission/Bail
|
RETURN TO POLICE STATION
2.1.1 Consideration shall be given to the use of sections 37(7) and 47(3) of the Police and Criminal Evidence
Act 1984 (PACE) where:(i) the custody officer determines that there is insufficient evidence to charge a defendant and where
further investigation is to be made for which detention without charge cannot be authorised; or(ii) there is sufficient evidence but the decision to prosecute has not been taken and the advice of the
CPS is to be sought or the matter referred to another body.
2.1.2 TIME GUIDELINES - CASE PROGRESS
a)Unless a protracted investigation or other compelling consideration is involved, the period of bail when a suspect is granted police bail under section 47(3) of PACE with a duty to return to a police station, should be no more than 3 WEEKS.b) In cases where the advice of the CPS is to be sought or there is a referral to another agency, this period may be extended to no more than 5 WEEKS.
[N.B. For young offenders, regard must be had to any statutory time limits then in force when considering the length of any bail period to be granted.]TO COURT
2.1.3 In the interests of reducing delay the charge procedure should be adopted whenever possible
(including cases where the defendant is a young offender). This avoids the delays caused by the laying of
informations and serving summonses.2.1.4 When granting unconditional bail, conditional bail or varying conditional bail the police will consider the
views of the victim, especially where there are fears of attack, intimidation or harassment.
| 2.1.5 |
TIME GUIDELINES - CASE PROGRESSa) The period of bail between charging and a defendant’s first appearance at court will be determined by the requirements of section 46 Crime and Disorder Act 1998. All cases charged will be bailed to the first sitting of the court after the person is charged or, where the appearance cannot be accommodated until a later date, that later date.b) In multiple defendant cases, whenever one or more defendants are held in custody for a remand application, ALL defendants, including those on bail, should appear at the same court hearing. |
GRANT
2.2.1 With the introduction of section 46 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, the arrangements with respect to
the variation of police conditional bail will rarely be applicable as cases will fall within the management of
the court at an early stage. Nevertheless, there may still be circumstances where these arrangements will
be applicable and guidance on procedures with respect to file standards is therefore provided.2.2.2 Police decisions on the grant of conditional bail and the reasons for them must be fully and accurately
recorded, as must details of any surety or security. This allows the decisions to be properly reviewed if the
defendant:(i) applies to the police to vary the conditions - (See Guidance Notes for MG4A, MG4B and
MG4C in Section 7);(ii) applies to the court to vary the conditions - (See Guidance Notes for MG21 in Section 7);
(iii) breaches a condition and is placed before a court - (See "Breach of police imposed bail
conditions" in section 3);(iv) is the subject of an application to the court by the prosecution to vary or withhold bail as a
result of new information.VARIATION - APPLICATION BY THE DEFENDANT
2.2.3 Where the defendant applies to the court to vary police imposed conditional bail a copy of the application
will be served on the custody officer. The court will fix a hearing date and notify the CPS. (The hearing
must take place within 72 hours of the receipt of the application by the court.) Once notified, the CPS will
fax MG21 to the locally agreed police contact point. There are two possibilities:(i) CPS has received a file.
Where the file has already been supplied, the CPS will request (on MG21) an MG7. The police will2.2.4 Upon receipt of the papers, the lawyer will review:
give their view of the defence application. (The reasons for imposing conditions in the first place will
be apparent from the file). The MG7 (and MG(c) if required) together with MG20 must be available
to the CPS lawyer at the court building or other locally agreed reception point at least ONE
HOUR before the court commences.(ii) CPS has not received a file.
Where the file has not yet been submitted, the CPS will request (on MG21) a remand file which
should be available to the CPS lawyer at the court building or other locally agreed reception point at
least ONE HOUR before the court commences. The police will have received notification from the
court and will therefore have had more notice than the CPS of the application. If the appropriate
expedited or full file is available or can be made ready in time, this may be supplied as an alternative
to a remand file, provided MG7 is attached.(i) the original decision to grant conditional bail;
(ii) any previous applications to vary;(iii) the current application.
A request may be made to the police to provide additional information.
VARIATION - APPLICATION BY THE PROSECUTION
2.2.5 If new information becomes known after bail has been granted by the police the prosecutor may apply to a
magistrates’ court for:(i) bail to be made conditional;
(ii) conditions to be varied; or
(iii) bail to be withheld.
2.2.6 If a file has already been submitted to the CPS the "new information" which leads to the application should
be supplied on MG7 and sent under cover of MG20.2.2.7 If the appropriate expedited or full file is available or can be made ready in time, this may be supplied as
an alternative to a remand file, provided MG7 is attached.2.2.8 MG7 should include the information in support of the prosecution application to impose conditions, vary
existing bail conditions or seek a remand in custody.
VARIATION - APPLICATION BY THE DEFENDANT
2.3.1 Where the CPS is notified that the defendant is seeking to vary court imposed bail conditions the CPS will, where appropriate, seek police views.
VARIATION - APPLICATION BY THE PROSECUTION
2.3.2 If new information becomes known after bail has been granted by the court, the prosecutor may apply to a
magistrates’ court for:(i) bail to be made conditional;2.3.3 Where "new information" becomes known to the police, the CPS should be informed using MG7 which(ii) conditions to be varied; or
(iii) bail to be withheld.
should be sent under cover of MG20.
BREACH OF POLICE IMPOSED BAIL CONDITIONS
2.4.1 Where a file has already been submitted to the CPS, a Form MG7 will be prepared and submitted to the
CPS together with a copy of Form MG4A and any Forms MG4B.2.4.2 If the appropriate expedited or full file is available or can be made ready in time, this may be supplied as
an alternative to a remand file, provided MG7 is attached.2.4.3 It is important to indicate the precise time and date of arrest for breach of bail conditions to ensure
compliance with section 7(4)(a) of the Bail Act 1976.
BREACH OF COURT IMPOSED BAIL CONDITIONS
2.4.4 Case papers required to deal with breach of court bail conditions are dealt with in section 3.
2.4.5 Whenever possible, the file upon which the conditions were imposed should be made available to the
prosecutor at court. Where this is done, the file must be returned to the police at the end of the hearing.2.4.6 Where the file is unavailable, as much background information as possible should appear on the MG8 (see
section 7).2.4.7 Where a person is charged with an offence and a breach of court bail conditions is also alleged, the MG8
will be included in the file. It will not be necessary to repeat details of the breach on MG7.2.4.8 For file actions to be completed by the CPS following a breach of court bail hearing, see section 6.
(For ease of reference, paragraphs 2.4.5 to 2.4.7 above are reproduced in section 3.)
2.5.1 Agreement should be made locally to ensure that the police are notified of any changes to bail conditions at
the earliest opportunity.
In cases where the charge procedure is not considered appropriate, prompt action should be taken to finalise the procedures between completion of an investigation and the laying of an information.
| 2.62 |
TIME GUIDELINES - CASE PROGRESSa) The period between the completion of an investigation (or the reporting for process) and the laying of an information should be no more than 3 WEEKS;b) Where the youth provisions of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 have yet to be commenced and reference is made to a youth panel, this period may be extended to no more than 4 WEEKS; c) In cases where a file is to be submitted to the CPS for advice this period may be extended to no more than 5 WEEKS; d) The period between the laying of an information and the first listing of a case at court should be no more than 5 WEEKS; e) In cases involving young offenders efforts should be made to achieve shorter return dates. Therefore the period between the laying of an information and the first listing of a case at court should be no more than 3 WEEKS. |
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