NCJ Number
165642
Date Published
1996
Length
20 pages
Annotation
An assessment of the effect of England's Criminal Justice Act of 1991 on sentencing in the youth court found that 13,215 youth court cases in 18 local authority areas were monitored during the period from October 1, 1992 to September 30, 1994.
Abstract
Of those passing through the youth court, 42.8 percent were 17 years of age, 24.4 percent were 16 years of age, and 15.7 percent were 15 years of age; juveniles aged 16 and 17 years comprised 67.2 percent of the cases. Custodial sentencing increased compared to previous year figures for juvenile courts. In the 16- and 17-year age group, 17-year-olds received 90 percent of probation orders and 51 percent of supervision orders. Only 1 percent of sentences were combination orders. Absolute and conditional discharges were the most frequently used sentences. The unit fine was imposed on young people in 13.5 percent of cases; in 2 percent of cases, the unit fine was imposed on parents. A higher proportion of prosecuted offenders came from ethnic minority backgrounds than in the general population. Females constituted 10 percent of offenders and received 3.2 percent of custodial sentences imposed. An appendix contains a questionnaire for monitoring the Criminal Justice Act in the youth court. 9 footnotes and 9 tables