Youth Justice – Police Cautions and Youth Conditional Cautions

Police Cautions and Youth Conditional Cautions for young offenders

If a young person commits their first or second minor offence, and has not been to court before, the police may consider giving them a Youth Restorative Disposal, a Police Caution or a Youth Conditional Caution instead of the young person having to appear at court.

What is a Youth Restorative Disposal?

The Youth Restorative Disposal (YRD) is a new option for Police which holds 10 to 17 year olds to account for minor crime and disorder through the use of Restorative Justice.

YRD is only an option for low-level incidents, where guilt is admitted and where there is a practical option for an apology or for the young person to put right the harm or loss they have caused. It aims to strike the right balance between addressing the offence and providing support for young people in encouraging them to not commit further instances of crime or anti-social behaviour.

What is a Police Caution?

Youth Cautions and Youth Conditional Cautions were introduced by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) in April 2013, to replace Police Reprimands and final warnings.

A Police Caution is a formal verbal warning given by a Police Officer to a young person who admits they are guilty of a minor first offence.

What is a Youth Conditional Caution?

A young person may receive a Youth Conditional Caution for a more serious first offence or for a subsequent offence. A Youth Conditional Caution is a caution but with conditions attached to it that the young person must adhere to. Young people who receive a Youth Conditional Caution will be referred to Derby Youth Justice Service (YJS).

A member of the YOS will visit the young offender and their family and undertake an assessment to decide what conditions to put in place for the young person to help them avoid further offending. This may include, victim awareness work, consequences of offending work, reparation. If the young person fails to engage with the conditions set then they may be referred back to Court for the original offence.