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Croydon Youth Offending Team |
| Reprimands and Final Warnings - the text of our leaflet |
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On this Page:Important advice for children & young people and their parents /carers about REPRIMANDS and FINAL WARNINGS. Please read the enclosed information—it may well affect your futureWhat is a Youth Offending Team?
What is a Youth Offending Team?It is a team of professional staff from Education, Health, Police, Social Services and the Youth Service - all working together to reduce offending by children and young people. What is a REPRIMAND or FINAL WARNING?These replace what used to be called “cautions”. A REPRIMAND will be issued for a minor first offence. If you commit a second offence—no matter how minor, you will be issued with a FINAL WARNING by the police. It is also possible to get a FINAL WARNING if your first offence is too serious for a REPRIMAND. If you have received a FINAL WARNING and you offend again—no matter how minor the offence is—you are likely to be charged and sent to court. Anybody between the ages of 10 and 18 years can receive a REPRIMAND and / or FINAL WARNING. To receive a REPRIMAND or FINAL WARNING you must have admitted the offence and shown that you are sorry for the harm you have caused. Reprimand Received:Your details will automatically be passed to your local Youth Offending Team (YOT). If you live in the Borough of Croydon we will probably contact you and your parents / carers by phone and have a chat about you, your family and the events that led up to the REPRIMAND. Final Warning Received:You and your parents / carers will be contacted by your local YOT. In most cases a home visit will be arranged. If you live in Croydon the home visit will be followed by a visit to the YOT. The purpose of these visits is to talk to you and your family about what led up to you receiving the FINAL WARNING and to talk to you about your life style, school or college, your family and any problems you may or may not have. We will also talk about the various schemes on offer in the Borough to see if any suit you. If we feel that you would benefit from taking part in one of these schemes we will refer you. Bailed for Final Warning:If you live in Croydon and have been bailed from the Police Station whilst a decision is made to give you a FINAL WARNING or not, you will have been given a date and a time to return. Before this date, an officer from the YOT will contact you to arrange an assessment to see if you are suitable for a FINAL WARNING and offer you a chance to work with us to help you not get into trouble again. If suitable, the Officer will make arrangements for the FINAL WARNING to be delivered at the YOT. If this is done there is no need to go back to the Police Station. If you do not work with the YOT and a FINAL WARNING is not given to you then you must return to the Police Station on the date given. Any victims of your offence may also be contacted to ask their views and it is possible that they will be given the opportunity to attend the YOT to meet you The Purpose of the Reprimand or Final WarningYou have been or will be given a REPRIMAND or FINAL WARNING as an alternative to being sent to court. THIS IS NOT A “LET OFF”. Our main concern is to help you NOT to break the law again. help you NOT to break the law again. IF you do break the law again you will more than likely be sent to the Youth Court. This can lead to you being found guilty and sentenced! Do I have to accept advice or YOT assistance?Any activity or assistance offered by the YOT is voluntary BUT take note of the following:-
Parents/Carers please note!If your child offends and is sent to Court, the Court HAS to consider placing YOU on a PARENTING ORDER, which can last up to 12 months! If your child gets a CONVICTION it can bar them from certain types of employment. PLEASE support and encourage your child to take part in any schemes offered. Our main aim is to prevent any further offending by your child. How can WE help YOU?In the case of reprimands we will have sent you details of various schemes available throughout the Borough of Croydon. It is up to you to contact these schemes, which include:
If you need any advice on topics such as DRUGS, EDUCATION or HEALTH, please contact the YOT and ask to speak to one of our specialist workers. We can also advise you about parenting support services available in the Borough. For more details of the YOT and the services on offer to YOU, please visit the rest of our website.
Page last reviewed 29th January 2003 |
| Croydon
Youth Offending Team 14 Whitehorse Road - Croydon - CR0 2JA Telephone: 020 8404 5800 Fax: 020 8404 5810 |