Children and young people

A Community Rehabilitation Order is a sentence that requires an offender to be supervised by a member of the Youth Offending Team. Once the order has been made, their co-operation and the support of their family are essential if it is to be of use to them.

The purpose of the supervision is to help them to do what is necessary to stop offending and to protect the public from harm. They will also be expected to consider the effect the crime has on victims and make amends for their behaviour.

The team will work with them to find new ways of dealing with situations so that they do not offend again.

What will they have to do?

The order can be made for any period between six months and three years. If they make good progress, they or their supervising officer can ask the court to end the order early. The court is unlikely to agree to this unless they have completed at least half the sentence satisfactorily and have not committed another offence.

Their order will be organised by their supervising officer, according to standards required by the Home Office. Their officer has a duty to encourage them to work on those areas that are linked to their offending. If this is going to make any difference, they will need to talk openly with their supervising officer about themselves.

They and their parents or carers, where possible, will be asked to take part in drawing up a plan for their supervision. They will also be asked to review this plan with their supervising officer every three months. They and their parents or carers, where appropriate, have a right to a copy of the plan.

What are the rules?

They must:

• notify any change of address,
• attend when required,
• arrive on time for appointments,
• comply with any reasonable directions of the supervisor,
• comply with any additional requirements included in their order.

For the duration of the order, the following behaviour is prohibited on Youth Offending Team premises or when Youth Offending Team staff (or persons operating under their direction) accompany them:

• attending while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, thereby being unable to participate properly in supervision;
• fighting, violent or aggressive behaviour or threats of violence;
• other conduct or language that might reasonably give serious offence to Youth Offending Team staff, other persons under supervision or members of the public;
• other wilful or persistent non-co-operation or behaviour intended to prevent the progress of their or others' orders.

Are there any other additional requirements?

At the time of sentence, the court may have added further requirements to the order. The supervising officer will explain these to the offender.

What happens if they do not co-operate?

If they do not keep to the conditions or the additional requirements, their supervising officer must take them back to court. If the court considers that they have breached their order, it may:

• revoke the order and pass another sentence, which could include custody;
• tell them to complete the order but punish them by imposing a fine of up to £1,000.

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