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16.7 Supporting Young People Prior to Sentence

Contents

Introduction
Informal Bail Support
Remand to Secure Accommodation

1. Introduction

1.1	There is no legislation on the Isle of Man for offering formal bail support or remand accommodation to young people awaiting sentence. However, informal bail support may be offered if requested by the court. For serious offences, a young person may be remanded to secure accommodation.

2. Informal Bail Support

Caption: section 2

2.1	The primary purpose of offering informal bail support services to young people and courts is to minimise the use of secure accommodation as a remand option and to encourage the use of the least restrictive, suitable option consistent with public protection. Neighbourhood police teams monitor curfews if they are conditions of bail.
2.2	The Youth Justice Team will, in conjunction with partner agencies, provide interventions at the pre-trial stage and prior to sentence aimed at: Addressing the welfare needs of young people on bail, such as support with accommodation; Preventing offending on bail; Supporting compliance with conditions; Ensuring young people attend scheduled court appearances; Reducing delays caused by failure to appear at court.
2.3	Where young people are refused bail, the YJT will ensure that consideration is given to what might be offered at the next court hearing in support of a bail application. In addition, the YJT will ensure that appropriate support is offered to young people refused bail in the longer term.

3. Remand to Secure Accommodation

Caption: section 3 table

3.1 Legal Framework
	3.1.1	See also Placements in Secure Accommodation Procedure and Secure Accommodation (Criteria) Reviews Procedure.
	3.1.2	Section 76 (2) gives the Court power to remand a young person to custody (the Secure Care Home is designated a custodial institution for those under 18) if: He/she is charged with homicide; or It is of the opinion that only his/her detention in custody would be adequate to protect members of the public from death or serious personal injury occasioned by offences committed by him/her.
	3.1.3	Section 76 (6)(7) gives the Court power to remand a young person to accommodation provided by the Department and to impose on the Department a requirement that the young person be placed and kept in secure accommodation (known as a “security requirement”) only if: He or she is charged with or has been found guilty of a violent or sexual offence, or of an offence punishable in the case of an adult with custody for a term of 10 years or more; or He or she has a recent history of absconding while being looked after by the Department and is charged with or has been found guilty of an offence alleged or found to have been committed while he/she was being looked after by the Department; and In either case the Court is of the opinion that only such a requirement would be adequate to protect the public from harm from him/her.
	3.1.4	If a looked after young person is detained under Section 41(6) of the Police Powers and Procedures Act 1998 (the young person must have been charged with an offence not for breach of bail) the criteria for the use of secure accommodation under Section 27 of the Children & Young Persons Act 2001 is modified from that stated above, to: The young person is likely to abscond from such other accommodation; or The young person is likely to injure himself or other people if he is kept in any such other accommodation.
	3.1.5	If a non-Looked After young person (under 18) is detained under Section 41(6) of the Police Powers and Procedures Act 1998 and handed over to the care of the Department, they have to decide whether to use the Secure Care Home prior to them being brought before the first available juvenile criminal court. There are no statutory criteria to base this decision upon but acting reasonably the same criteria applied to Looked After children is used i.e. that described in a) and b) above.
	3.1.6	A young person can be sentenced to custody and, if under 18 their sentence will be served at the Secure Care Home.
3.2 Role of the Youth Justice Team Workers
	3.2.1	If a young person has been remanded to secure accommodation, a youth justice team worker will visit him or her on a weekly basis and assist in preparing bail applications. A Children’s Services social worker will also be allocated to the young person.
	3.2.2	The court is not allowed to make an order authorising the placement of a young person in secure accommodation unless the young person is legally represented, or if, having been given the opportunity to apply for Legal Aid, the young person has refused to apply for it.
	3.2.3	The decision on mobility for a young person on a sentence rests with the Secure Care Home Manager, Youth Justice Team Manager and the Department of Social Care.
	3.2.4	For more information about the roles and responsibilities of youth justice team workers and social workers, see Placements in Secure Accommodation Procedure, The Department’s Duties & the Review Process (Welfare & Justice). The youth justice worker will participate fully in the LAC planning and review processes. For more information, see Secure Accommodation (Criteria) Reviews Procedure.

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