Remand to youth detention accommodation

  • This is a refusal of bail. Before being remanded to youth detention accommodation the court must find exceptions to the ‘right to bail’ under the Bail Act. Different grounds apply, depending on the type of offence the child is charged with.
  • Youth detention accommodation may be a secure children’s home, secure training unit or a young offenders’ institution.
  • The court can make an order provided one of the following sets of conditions apply:

First set of conditions

It is suggested that the court should consider these provisions using the following steps:

1. Step 1: Interests and welfare condition – before deciding whether to remand a child to youth detention accommodation the court must consider the interests and welfare of the child.

2. Step 2: Age condition – the child must be 12 to 17 years old.

3. Step 3: Sentencing condition – it must appear to the court that it is very likely that the child will be sentenced to a custodial sentence for the offence, or one or more of those offences, with which the child is charged or convicted.

4. Step 4: Offence condition – offence must be a violent or sexual offence, or an offence carrying 14 years’ imprisonment or more in the case of an adult.

5. Step 5: Necessity condition – the court must be of the opinion, after considering all of the options for the remand of the child, that only remanding the child to youth detention accommodation would be adequate to:

  1. protect the public from death or serious personal injury (physical or psychological) occasioned by further offences, or
  2. prevent the commission by the child of imprisonable offences and that the risks posed by the child cannot be managed safely in the community.

6. Step 6: First or second legal representation condition – The first condition is that the child is legally represented. Failing this, it is enough for the second condition to be satisfied if the child was represented but the representation was withdrawn (due to the child’s conduct or their financial resources), or if the child applied for representation but was refused (on the grounds of financial resources), or if the child (having been informed of the right to apply for representation) refused or failed to apply.

FINAL STEP: Reasons – where a court remands a child to youth detention accommodation, the court must state in open court and in ordinary language to the child the reasons for the custodial remand, that the court has considered remanding the child to local authority accommodation and has considered the interests and welfare of the child. Furthermore, the court must ensure that its reasons are given in writing to the child, to his/her lawyer and to Youth Justice Services.

Second set of conditions

It is suggested that the court should consider these provisions using the following steps:

1. Step 1: Interests and welfare condition – before deciding whether to remand a child to youth detention accommodation the court must consider the interests and welfare of the child.

2. Step 2: Age condition – the child must be 12 to 17 years old.

3. Step 3: Sentencing condition – it must appear to the court that it is very likely the child will be sentenced to a custodial sentence for the offence, or one or more of those offences, with which the child is charged or convicted.

4. Step 4: Offence condition – offence must be imprisonable.

5. Step 5: History conditions:

  1. First history condition – the child has a recent and significant history of absconding while subject to a custodial remand, and it appears to the court that the history is relevant in all the circumstances of the case; and at least one of the offences he/she now faces is alleged to have been committed while the child was remanded to local authority accommodation or youth detention accommodation, or
  2. Second history condition – the offence or offences now faced, together with any other imprisonable offences of which the child has been convicted, would amount to a recent and significant history of committing imprisonable offences while on bail or subject to a custodial remand and this appears to the court relevant in all the circumstances of the case.

6. Step 6: Necessity condition – the court must be of the opinion, after considering all of the options for the remand of the child, that only remanding the child to youth detention accommodation would be adequate to:

  1. protect the public from death or serious personal injury (physical or psychological) occasioned by further offences, or
  2. prevent the commission by the child of imprisonable offences and that the risks posed by the child cannot be managed safely in the community.

7. Step 7: First or second legal representation condition – the first condition is that the child is legally represented. Failing this, it is enough for the second condition to be satisfied if the child was represented but the representation was withdrawn (due to the child’s conduct or their financial resources), or if the child applied for representation but was refused (on the grounds of financial resources), or if the child (having been informed of the right to apply for representation) refused or failed to apply.

FINAL STEP: Reasons – where a court remands a child to youth detention accommodation, the court must state in open court and in ordinary language to the child the reasons for the custodial remand, that the court has considered remanding the child to local authority accommodation and has considered the interests and welfare of the child. Furthermore, the court must ensure that its reasons are given in writing to the child, to his/her lawyer and to Youth Justice Services.