A warrant will be issued when a young person is remanded, or receives a custodial sentence. A court warrant is a legal document that ensures young people can be transported legally from court to secure establishments and to be legally detained in custody.
We have experienced a number of situations, often outside of office hours, when a young person has arrived at a YOI with an incorrect court warrant and so cannot be admitted. This causes a great deal of difficulty that could be avoided if the warrant was properly checked before the young person left court.
Normally, the situation occurs when a young person arrives with paperwork indicating a court-ordered secure remand instead of a remand to custody warrant. A court-ordered secure remand requires a young person to be securely remanded into the care of a local authority and so they could not be legally held in a YOI.
To help avoid this happening, we would appreciate if YOT workers in court, court staff and secure escort providers would remember the following before young people are transported from court to custody.
- All warrants must be checked for accuracy before leaving a court (see below).
- They must be signed, dated and reflect one of the remand or sentence categories below.
- If you are in any doubt, the YJB Placement and Casework Service must be contacted immediately.
The YJB Head of Placements has the discretion to authorise an admission out of office hours.
Court warrant checklist
The YJB and HM Courts Service have jointly produced a court warrant checklist for YOTs, courts, and secure establishments. Completing the checklist correctly will ensure that young people are transported promptly and delays are reduced in the admission process at secure establishments.
YOT practitioners attending court should ensure the following:
- The young person’s full name is written correctly.
- The date of birth is correct.
- The sentence details are correct.
- The warrant is signed and correctly dated by a legal adviser or judge.
Using the checklist and guidance will assist practitioners in ensuring these problems are avoided.
Click to download the court warrants checklist [34Kb Word document; opens in new window].
For more information on the checklist, download the guidance for use [98Kb Word document; opens in new window].
Remand and sentencing categories permissible on court warrants
Remands
- Court-ordered secure remand
- Remand to custody
Click for a guidance note on the differences between a court-ordered secure remand and a remand to prison custody.
Sentences
- Detention and Training Order – Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000, section 100
- Detention during Her Majesty’s Pleasure (HMP) – Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000, section 90
- Detention for life – Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000, section 91
- Detention for public protection – Criminal Justice Act 2003, section 226
- Extended sentence for certain violent or sexual offences – Criminal Justice Act 2003, section 228
- Determinate sentence for specified ‘serious’ offences – Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000, section 91
For more on sentences and orders, see our ‘Disposals’ page.
For more on which young people are sent to which type of institution, see the ‘Placing Children and Young People in Custody’ page in the public area of our website.