Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill

I would expect the youth offending team to have gone back to the court earlier than that to say, ““We haven’t got the resources to carry out the referral order of the court””. Immediate action could then be taken by the court with the young person involved. I am talking about a young offender who has committed a further serious offence—serious enough to bring him back before the courts. Our concern is that if one allows more than one referral order, this sentence will become compromised very quickly. Instead of the youth rehabilitation order being used as widely as we want it to be, referral orders will just be used once, twice, three or four times. Young offenders who commit further offences may need greater intervention than the referral order can possibly allow. It is a vital tool for offenders who appear before the court for the first time, whether it is their first offence or, as is more likely, a number of offences down the road. That is its value and its use, which we do not want to compromise. Of course the referral order has a low reconviction rate, which is excellent and why we are in favour of it. However, the practical effect of allowing a second order to be awarded just like that would be counterproductive.