Young Offenders Act 1993

The Chief Executive must, at the request of a court by which a youth is to be sentenced, have a report prepared on the social background and personal circumstances of the youth.

Such a report may not contain any recommendation about sentence.

Subject to subsection (5), no report relating to the social background or personal circumstances of a youth may be tendered to a court before the court has found an offence proved against the youth.

If a youth is found not guilty by a court, any report relating to the social background or personal circumstances of the youth prepared for the purposes of the proceedings must be destroyed.

Despite subsection (4), the destruction of a report relating to the social background or personal circumstances of a youth is not required where a court has recorded a finding under Part 8A of the

Criminal Law Consolidation

Act 1935 of conduct proved but not criminally responsible due to mental incompetence.

This section does not prevent the court from receiving during the course of a hearing any psychiatric or medical evidence relating to the youth, insofar as that evidence is relevant to the guilt or innocence of the youth.

The court in determining sentence must not take into account any matter given in evidence, or appearing in any report presented, to the court, if the matter is disputed by the youth, any guardian of the youth or the prosecutor, unless the court has decided that the matter has been proved beyond reasonable doubt.