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YOUR JUSTICE: Should teen burglar be locked up?
A young defendant has been found guilty of burglary after a trial at Sheffield Youth Court - now you must decide his sentence.
To mark 100 years of youth justice in Sheffield The Star is running a mock trial of a 15-year-old Sheffield boy who is accused of burglary.
Each day you, The Star readers, can vote to decide whether his case should progress to the next stage of the justice system:
DAY FOUR: THE youth has been found guilty of burglary and must be sentenced by the magistrates.
Before sentencing, his solicitor outlines reasons why he should serve his sentence in the community rather than go to custody.
He says the youth has younger siblings who depend on him as their parents are chaotic drug users.
Although he has offended in the past it has always been to support himself and his younger siblings whom he takes good care of.
The lawyer says if he goes into custody there will be no one to look after the children. He says the boy is sorry for what he has done.
Because of his young age the boy cannot go to prison but he can be given a detention and training order of up to two years.
This is a custodial sentence with a training element to help him gain skills he can use on his release.
Possible community punishments:
Reparation Order
A reparation order is very similar to community payback and Sheffield has one of the widest ranges of projects in the country. The order requires the boy to carry out unpaid work in his community to pay back for his crimes.
He could have to carry out up to 24 hours of unpaid work for a couple of hours at a time during the day, summer evenings or at weekends. This can be work which directly benefits the victim or something more indirect which benefits the wider community but this is usually in the area where he lives.
Attendance Centre Order
Originally created to prevent football hooliganism, the attendance centre opens on Saturday afternoons (previously to stop offenders attending the football) and requires young people to participate in group sessions about accommodation, careers, substance misuse, offending behaviour to help them live a crime-free life.
Curfew Orders
If the boy is given a curfew order he will have to remain in a set place, usually home, between certain hours. This is often given alongside other orders to ensure the boy has some order to his life and makes progress in living a crime-free life.
Action Plan Orders
This order lasts for three months and aims to bring discipline and structure to the boy's life. He must attend a minimum of two appointments per week to carry out specific tasks set by the magistrates. This can include attendance at work, school or training or tackling issues such as drug use.
Supervision Orders
A Supervision Order can last up to three years and can work in conjunction with a curfew order or the Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Order. Initially the boy will have to meet with a supervision officer a minimum of twice per week. If he responds well to the order and stops re-offending, the Youth Offending Service can ask the court to withdraw the order.
Supervision Orders with ISSP (Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme)
This is one of the toughest alternatives to prison and is only for people who have committed a number of crimes. The order focuses on both punishment and rehabilitation to ensure fewer, if any, victims are created by this boy in the future.
As part of the order the boy would have to meet with people every day to address his offending, education and family life.
He would also have to carry out some form of unpaid work in the community and attend a course which would improve his understanding of the impact his crime had on his victim.
He may also be required to wear an electronic tag to prove he is at home during the hours of his curfew. This would bring more order to his life than he has ever experienced before and would require him to take responsibility to ensure he was in certain places at specific times, which is very different to the chaotic life he currently leads.
Custodial options:
Detention and Training Orders
This is a custodial sentence and can be for a maximum of two years if given by the magistrates.
Should the youth be sent to custody? vote yes for custody and no for a community-based penalty.
To outline which community penalty you think he should carry out, add your comment below.
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Weather for Sheffield
Friday 10 February 2012
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