The Youth Justice
System
If you are aged under 18, the law
deals with you differently than it would if you were an
adult.
As a young person, you are still making the journey
towards taking full responsibility for yourself.
The Youth Justice System exists to deal with young people who
commit crime, and help young people who are in danger of getting
involved in it.
How does the Youth Justice System work?
The Youth Justice System has three main parts:
- Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) which
include police officers, the probation service, social services and
people from other organisations. Their job is to deal with young
offenders in the community, and help stop them committing
crimes.
- Youth Courts deal with all young people who
have been charged with a crime. Sometimes in very serious cases a
youth court might decide to send a young person for trial by a
Crown Court, the same kind of court that deals with serious crimes
committed by adults.
- Custody In some situations a court can give a
young person a custodial sentence. This means that they have their
freedom taken away and are kept in secure accommodation. For more
information, see the Youth Justice
Board website.