Neath Port Talbot Youth Offending Team

Neath Port Talbot

Youth Offending Team

Remand Management

Policy

and

Procedure

Introduction

This remand management policy has been written to support YOTworkers and volunteers in maintaining a consistent standard of delivery to all children and young people, from arrest and detention at the Police Station through to appearing before the court, bail & bail supervision remands to local authority accommodation and into the secure estate. It also allows partner agencies, Police and the courts to know what it can expect from the YOT when it is providing a particular intervention. The principles on which this document is based are consistent to those applied throughout the YOT, in that the young person and their families shall be treated with respect and without prejudice in all their dealings with YOT workers.

It is important that this document is read within the context of, National Standards for Remand Management (Standard 3), this must be understood and used by all involved in the process. Many of the issues contained here are also explained further in the “YOT and Children’s Services Statement of arrangements”.

The fundamental principles underlying remand management indicate that the YOT will seek to provide to the Police and the courts the least intrusive option for the young person which will also provide appropriate levels of protection to the public. Within remand management the young person will often be unconvicted therefore any intervention undertaken needs to take this into account. Activities relating to working with offending behaviour, restorative conferencing or reparation would generally be inappropriate activities at the pre trial stage. We are aware of pilot pre trial restorative justice projects with adults but at this stage we continue to adhere to these principles

This guidance follows the process through highlighting the main issues of both procedure and policy that need to be taken into account. Inevitably as in many other areas of the work of the YOT, legislation, guidance and practice change often and practitioners need to ensure that they are aware of such changesand continue to review their practice.

Morning Detention Checks and Procedures

The YOT Police Officer will check NICHE every morning by 8.30am to determine if there are any young people under 18 in custody. A number of members of the YOT are trained to use thePNC, CIS and CHS Police terminal at the YOT offices. In the Police Officer’s absence he will ensure that another member of staff has been allocated the task. The information obtained is passed to the YOT Duty Worker and Senior Practitioners.

The YOTDuty Worker additionallycontacts the custody suite at Neath Police Station every morning at 8.30a.m. to ensure that no young people have been overlooked in the NICHE check and to gain further information on young people in custody. Note it is always important to ask about those up to age 18

The Duty worker will record the following information in the duty book:

Name, address and age of young person
Alleged offence, time of arrest & any available details of the offence
Police Station where young person is held, and the officer providing the information
Have parent/carers been contacted, if not, why not?
Determine the reasons for the overnight detention.
If an interview is likely to take place which requires an Appropriate Adult (AA), and what the arrangements for solicitors etc. are.
Details of action police intend to take, especially if there are likely to be any objections to bail.

If the young person is from outside the Neath Port Talbot area the Duty Worker must immediately pass on the details to the home Youth Offending Team and record this in the duty book. Any details relating to that young person should be obtained, especially regarding any welfare or risk management issues, and if appropriate passed to the Police;Initial discussions should be commenced as to how the case will be managed, once this contact has been instigated it should be maintained until the intervention is completed.

The Duty Worker must check the Youth Offending Team and Social Services data bases, speaking with any allocated workers if possible, and ensure that any specific welfare or risk management issues are passed on to the Police immediately.

These may include mental health problems, medical needs, learning difficulties, speech, language and communication needs.

If the Emergency Duty Team (EDT) has been involved with a young person who has been detained overnight, it is expected that they will normally have e mailed information to the YOT Group e mail box. On occasions information may be faxed to the YOT. It is the responsibility of the Duty Officer to check for any such e mails/faxes and incorporate this information into the procedures above.

Appropriate Adult(AA) Requests

In all cases where there is a request made for an AA to attend the Police Station the Duty Worker will before agreeing to provide the service, ensure that the police have taken all necessary steps to secure the parents/carers attendance. This may include on occasions contacting the parents/carers themselves before agreeing to the request.

The YOT should offer to facilitate the parents’ attendance where appropriate by explaining the process to them, discussing their concerns, offering practical support such as a lift to the police station and practical advice as appropriate.

The YOT endorses the principles contained in PACE and in National Standards in that parents should have responsibility for their children unless there are reasons why the parent/carer should not be involved.

Particular care should be taken where the young person is either very young or has not been arrested previously. A short delay in process on such occasions willbe appropriate if it is toensure that the parent/carer is able to attend.

The YOTwill provide AA’s where the young person is under the age of 17 years. In the case of 17 year olds as a result of a Judicial Ruling regarding AA’s for 17 year old young people, the following recommendation has been issued to all police forces in EnglandWales. South Wales Police have with immediate effect determined that a 17 year old should be offered an AA. Where they accept the support of an AA then the YOT or EDT will respond accordingly i.e. the same as 10 to 16 year olds previously.Therefore we will provide an AA if requested for 17 year olds. It is important that the YOT monitors how this offer is being phrased to young people by talking to 17 year olds at the Court or during supervision. If there are any areas of concern these must be raised immediately with the YOT Manager.

Where the YOT is providing an AA thiswill normally be provided by YOT volunteers who have been DBS checked and trained , this process is managed by the YOT Volunteer Co-ordinator. Where a volunteer is unavailable the service will be provided by those YOT workers able to perform this task (i.e. not Police Officer etc). The YOT provides out of hours EDT with an AA volunteer rota service available until 11pm; in the event a volunteer is not available the role will be performed by Neath Port Talbot EDT. It is the responsibility of the EDT service to ensure that they are trained & up to date in their knowledge of AA processes & procedures, the YOT will facilitate this on request.

Where the young person is currently managed by a Social Worker or is currently in foster care or residential care it is expected that the individual worker or carer will undertake the AA task. It is an overriding principle that the role of AA is best performed by someone who the young person knows and trusts and who has an in depth knowledge of the issues that the young person is facing. Only where it is impossible for the young person’s worker or carer to take on this role should an AA be considered. Where the worker or carer is unfamiliar with the AA task the YOT or EDT will provide full back up support.

Where an offence takes place in a residential or Secure Unit in Neath Port Talbot it is expected that Unit staff not involved in the occurrence will undertake the AA role. Where the offence occurs in a foster placement it is expected that the Social Worker will undertake the role.

The YOT will only undertake an AA when there is a solicitor or their representative present in the interview. The AA will only attend the Police Station when all arrangements for the interview have been confirmed by the Police. If there is an unacceptable delay in the interview starting after the AA has attended the Police Station they should leave, ensuring that the officer in charge of the case has contact details when the issue is resolved these details will not be those of the individual worker (mobile telephone numbers should not be given out) but the contact details of the service. It should never be the responsibility of the YOT to unduly delay the interview process if the Police have operated in line with this process.

After accepting a request for an AA, the duty worker must record all details of the referral on a PACE monitoring form. Where a volunteer is to attend, the duty worker must check the AA rota and contact the designated AA for that day. The duty worker will liaise with the Police to ascertain the time the interview is to commence and instruct the AA accordingly.

The Duty worker must provide the AA with relevant information as outlined on the AA Information Sheet. This must include any issues related to any specific welfare or risk management issues related to the young person.

The Duty worker must keep in regular contact with the Police, if there are any issues of the possibility of bail being refused if charged the Duty Worker must inform the Youth Offending Team Bail Worker who will liaise with the Police on support that could be offered by the Youth Offending Team to avoid this.

Where there is expected to be a delay in excess of two hours between the AA request and the expected interview time the AA or the Duty Officer/EDT should at the instigation of the duty worker, visit the young person to check on their welfare any issues found or observed must be reported back & acted upon immediately.

It will not normally be expected other than in exceptional circumstances that an AA interview will commence after 11pm at night. Where a young person is in custody & the interview is not ready to commence at this time EDT or the AA should encourage the Police to release the young person or bail them to return so that the interview may take place at a reasonable hour on a subsequent occasion.

On arrival at the Police Station the AA should ask to see the young person and check the custody records to ensure that there are no concerns with the way that young person has been dealt with. It is not appropriate for the AA to discuss the offence with the young person as any admission of the offence would disqualify them from taking part in the interview. The AA should operate at the Police Station in line with PACE guidelines and the advisory documents they have been issued with. If there are any serious concerns at any time in the process they should halt the process & contact the Duty Officer to discuss the situation.

Following interview and the associated processes, the AA is not responsible for the welfare of the young person unless they are the Social Worker or Carer. The police are responsible for ensuring the young person returns home safely. If the AA is aware of any issues or has concerns about the young person returning home they must inform the Police and either the YOT or EDT as appropriate.

The AA will complete a PACE monitoring form and submit this to the Youth Offending Team office by the next working day at the latest. If it is during a working day the AA must ring the YOT to update on the outcome of the interview. The Youth Offending Team administration team will then ensure that the form is attached to the one completed by the duty worker and the intervention recorded appropriately. If there are any serious issues of concern the AA must inform the YOT by telephone immediately

If the young person is charged and bailed, the AA must ensure that the young person receives both verbal and written information on what will happen next by the police. If the young person is to attend the Bureau they should receive a leaflet in respect of this. The Police provide their own information regarding this and the Youth Offending Team when informed contact the young person with further information.

If the young person is charged, and the parent/carer was not present at the interview, the AA must inform the YOT immediately. The duty worker will then try to contact them. The duty worker must also inform the parent/carers in writing by first class post. If the duty worker has not been able to contact parent/carers they must record the lack of contact on the PACE monitoring form and ensure that the following duty worker is aware of the situation and attempts to continue to contact the parent/carers until successful.

Overnight Detention

If in accordance with PACE the Police consider it is necessary to detain the young person overnight, the police must transfer the young person to local authority accommodation in line with the PACE codes of practice, other than in exceptional circumstances. Section 38(6) PACE 1984 states that transfers should occur wherever possible, and where appropriate they should be made as soon as is practical in order to limit the amount of time the young person spends in the police station. N.B. PACE 38(6) does not apply where the young person is not charged with an offence i.e. where a warrant has been executed.

The transfer cannot be deemed impractical because:-

the local authority has difficulty finding a placement
the local authority does not want to accept the transfer
of the young person’s behaviour
of the nature/type of offence

Case law states that impracticability can only be deemed as reasonable where weather conditions are extreme

The AA must query any failure to transfer the young person with the custody sergeant and contact the YOT orEDT if transfer is refused. In these instances the YOT worker must discuss the matter further with the custody sergeant advocating wherever possible for this transfer. Young people so transferred will always be accommodated and must not be placed at home or with a family member unless by prior agreement from the Head of Children’s Services or the YOT Manager. When a transfer is to take place, the YOT Worker should contact Children’s Services to obtain a placement.The placement should then be made by the accommodating authority. It is the responsibility of the YOT to ensure transport to court of the young person following placement.

10 and 11 year olds must be transferred to the local authority unless impractical to do so. The local authority has discretion over the placement location.

In the case of 12 to 17 year olds where the police certify that non secure accommodation is inadequate to protect the public from serious harm (death or serious personal physical or psychological injury) they may insist that only secure accommodation is suitable. In line with the provisions under PACE they may request an overnight placement in secure accommodation. This decision can only be taken by a YOT Manager or a Principal Officer in Children’s Services. Such a placement will only be agreed where there is any reasonable concern for the child’s welfare, e.g. a history of self-harm and there is a placement available within reasonable distance.

Young People who are Detained In Custody to Appear in Court

Where the duty worker becomes aware that there is a young person who has been detained in custody and is to appear in Court the following day. If the young person is or has recently been open to the YOT the duty worker will immediately inform the current case manager who will then make arrangements to deal with the matter. If the young person is not a current or recently closed case or is not known the YOT Bail/ISS Workerwill attend. If neither is available to attend court then a senior member of the YOT must be informed. A decision will be taken as to who will deal with the matter.

If the young person is from outside the county the duty worker must inform the home YOT (see 8 above). The duty worker or allocated worker must obtain all relevant information from the home YOT to provide to the Court. There may be situations where it is more appropriate for the home YOT to send a representative. There will be a mutual agreement about this based on the details in the case, availability, distance etc. If the home YOT is not attending court there must be clarity about responsibility for each stage of the court or remand process. It would normally be appropriate for the home YOT to make the decisions concerning the case with Neath Port Talbot being advised of the current situation. In all circumstances Neath Port Talbot YOT will ensure the young person’s interests are paramount in the decisions taken. In all cases where the young person appears to be at risk of a remand to Youth Detention Accommodation(YDA) the home YOT should complete a Placement Information Form at the earliest opportunity and send via connectivity to the YJB with all necessary information, to enable the YJB to make a decision on an appropriate placement.

It is expected that on all occasions when a young person is appearing in court following an overnight detention or PACE transfer that the YOT will ensure that there is a worker in court to deal with any bail or Remand issues. Even if there are unlikely to be any issues relating to bail or remand, it is important that the young person is seen at the Police Station or at court at the earliest opportunity to ensure that there are no outstanding welfare issues.

Prior to attending court, the responsible worker must at the earliest opportunity collate as much information as possible in order to be able to address any objections to bail. This would normally include the following:

What Court the young person is to be presented at.
What time the young person is expected to arrive at the court.
Any likely objections to bail in view of the previous history or current offence.
Is the young person currently subject to any orders or bail conditions?
Is the young person a current case of Children’s Services?
Determine the ‘designated authority’ for the young person as outlined in the ‘Process for determining the Designated Authority’(appendix 1)
Assessing the risk of a remand to the local authority or YDA (and then taking appropriate action).
Are any family members able to attend court or can they be contacted, if it is appropriate they should be contacted.
The current accommodation situation, can the young person return home or stay with another family member or friend, if appropriate. Would such a placement be appropriate, does it need to be confirmed?
If electronic monitoring (child must be 12+) is required does the householder consent?
The young person’s previous offending history.
Any previous episodes of failing to comply with bail.
Young person’s education/work status.
Any known information regarding the young person’s emotional/mental/physical health, speech, language, communication needs,medical issues, level of maturity and vulnerability, (previous records and Assets must be rigorously checked).
Any previous response to custodial episodes.
Is a Bail Supervision and Support Programme required, and if so, how will the programme be administered and how will it address the grounds for refusing bail.
Does the young person need a Bail Intensive Supervision and Surveillance(ISS)?
Is there a risk that the young person may fail to comply with any programme? If so, what can be done to reduce the risk?

This information will be sought from a number of sources including: