Community Orders > Referral Order
See a 2009 briefing paper here which features two
case studies of young people who have successfully
completed Referral Orders.
What is a Referral
Order?
A Referral Order is usually made
when a young person appears in court for the first
time, and pleads guilty. Most young offenders will
get a Referral Order for their first convicted
offence. (For very minor offences, the court can
order other punishments like fines. For very serious
offences they can still be sent straight to custody
but this is very rare).
A Referral Order means that the young person, and
usually their parent or carer, must meet regularly
with a Referral Order Panel of trained community
volunteers. They will
agree a Contract of Change to improve their
behaviour and make amends to the victims of their
crime, who might also be invited to attend the
meetings.
A YOT Officer will be allocated to support and guide
the young person during their contract, and they
will meet regularly in between meetings with the
Referral Order Panel. If the young person won’t
co-operate with this supervision, then they are
taken back to Court.
When a young person successfully completes their
Referral Order it is immediately ‘spent’ from their
criminal record, so they usually don’t have to tell
anyone about it.
Bradford YOT is delivering the 3 R’s programme to young offenders on Referral Orders in order for them to explore and understand their personal responsibilities and how they can play a more positive role in keeping Bradford safer for all.
RESPECT RIGHTS RESPONSIBILITY is a personal development programme that aims to instil a sense of belonging amongst young people and encourages tolerance, mutual respect and community cohesion. - see more here
