In April 2002 a new court order - the Referral Order - became available. This is given to most 10 to17 year olds pleading guilty to a first time offence, unless that offence is so serious that it warrants custody. The Youth Court refers the young person to a Youth Offender Panel, which is made up of two members of the community and one member of the local YOT (Youth Offending Team).

WHAT?

This Panel will consider what is the best and most appropriate course of action to be taken. The Panel will talk to the young person, their parents or carers and the victim. It is then for the Panel to decide, in conjunction with all parties, exactly what form of recompense the young person will make. Once an agreement has been made, the young person enters into a contract that specifies what must be done to discharge the order.

The Panels sit at times that are mutually agreeable and normally take place outside of Panel members working hours. An individual member is expected to be able to contribute roughly three hours per fortnight. All out of pocket expenses will be covered by the YOT.

The Referral Order and Youth Offender Panel is one of the new range of interventions that try to focus on the idea of Restorative Justice which aims to bring victim and offender to the centre of the process and find resolution through negotiation and mutual understanding of the harm caused to all concerned.

WHO?

The only requirement is that you are at least 18 years of age with an interest in your local community and are willing to make a small amount of time available on a regular basis. You will undergo a full criminal records check, however previous convictions, especially those of a minor nature will not automatically bar you from Panel membership.

HOW?

There are a number of ways of contacting your local YOT, the easiest is to ring them direct and ask to speak to the Referral Order Co-ordinator.

Numbers for all the individual YOTs can be found on The Youth Justice Board Web Site at www.youth-justice-board.gov.uk.

Alternatively you could ring one of the two regional hotlines. For the Northern region phone 0191 497 9332 and for the Southern region phone 01483 215350.