NCJ Number
193666
Date Published
November 2001
Length
48 pages
Annotation
This article describes the final warning system used for juveniles in the United Kingdom and the results of a 1 year study on reconviction.
Abstract
The Crime and Disorder Act replaced the pre-existing cautioning procedures for juvenile offenders with a system of reprimands and final warnings. The old system had been criticized for wide variation in implementation resulting in disparate cautioning rates between police forces, and because unlimited cautions were allowed for an individual offender. The new system of reprimands and final warnings aimed to bring greater clarity and consistency to pre-court disposals, with the central objective of preventing re-offending. The two mechanisms used were deterrence (reprimands were first options, final warnings were second options), and working with the offenders to address the factors in their lives that were linked to their offending behavior. When a final warning is given, any and all future offenses will be dealt with by way of court proceedings. The analysis was based upon a 1 year follow-up of 856 final warnings for which the data was collected for the evaluation of pilot youth offending teams. The comparison group consisted of a national sample of 4,718 offenders aged between 10 and 17 who were cautioned in 1998. Results showed that the final warning sample had statistically significant better outcomes than the caution comparison group. Males with previous criminal proceedings were most likely to have further proceedings in both the final warning and caution samples, but the final warning proportion was significantly lower than expected. The biggest difference between expected and actual rates of further proceedings was for males aged 16 and over with previous proceedings. The most common offense at first further proceedings for both final warning and caution samples was theft and handling. 10 figures, 11 tables, references, appendices