Tough new powers for courts to deal with young offenders
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Courts will be given tougher powers to hold persistent young offenders in custody as they await trial if they are charged with new offences while on bail, it was announced today.
Courts will be given tougher powers to hold persistent young offenders in custody as they await trial if they are charged with new offences while on bail, it was announced today.
The initiative, launched by Home Secretary Jack Straw, is part of the Government's 'yob-culture' crackdown. On Monday a 10-year plan to cut crime will be announced.
Courts will also be given the option of using electronic tagging to keep an eye on juveniles released on bail and to send those remanded in custody to secure training centres as an alternative to local authority secure accommodation.
At present, the courts have the power to remand juvenile defendants aged 12 to 16 in custody only if they are charged with a crime which would attract a sentence of 14 years or more if an adult was convicted of it - such as murder, rape or household burglary.
This means that, while serious offenders can be held in secure units, youngsters who persistently commit offences like assault, theft, criminal damage or burglary of a commercial building must be released on bail to await their trial.
In recent years, there have been many well-publicised cases of youngsters who commit numerous lower-level crimes while on bail which, while not classed individually as serious, can have a large cumulative impact on the community.
The new powers were introduced as amendments to the Criminal Justice and Police Bill currently going through Parliament, but the timetable for them to come into effect has not yet been finalised.
Also tabled today were further amendments to the Bill, giving the Criminal Records Bureau the power to refuse applications for access to high-level police checks from individuals or organisations which appear to be "bogus" and making clear that the police may retain all DNA and fingerprint samples held on the day the new law comes into force.