Young Offenders Act 1997

A child who is alleged to have committed an offence for which a caution may be given is entitled to be dealt with by caution if the investigating official determines that the matter is not appropriate for a warning or the offence is one for which a warning may not be given.

Despite subsection (1), the child is not entitled to be dealt with by caution if, in the opinion of the investigating official, it is more appropriate to deal with it by other means because it is not in the interests of justice for the matter to be dealt with by giving a caution.

In considering whether it is appropriate to deal with a matter by caution, an investigating official is to consider the following—

the seriousness of the offence,

the degree of violence involved in the offence,

the harm caused to any victim,

the number and nature of any offences committed by the child and the number of times the child has been dealt with under this Act,

any other matter the official thinks appropriate in the circumstances.

Despite subsection (1), an investigating official may, if of the opinion that the victim has suffered substantial harm or that the circumstances of the victim are such that it is appropriate to do so, refer the matter to a specialist youth officer to determine whether the matter should be dealt with under this Part or Part 5 even though the offence does not involve any degree of violence or is not of a serious nature.

A specialist youth officer to whom a matter is referred under subsection (4) may arrange for a caution to be given under this Part or take action under Part 5 and, in determining whether to do so, may take into account the fact that the victim has suffered substantial harm or the circumstances of the victim.

A child is not precluded from being given a caution merely because the child has previously committed offences or been dealt with under this Act.

Despite any other provision of this section, a child is not entitled to be dealt with by caution in relation to an offence if the child has been dealt with by caution on 3 or more occasions during the previous 3 years—

whether by or at the request of a police officer or specialist youth officer under section 29 or by a court under section 31, and

whether for offences of the same or of a different kind.