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If you are aged between 10 and 17 and convicted of an offence, the Youth Court may make an Action Plan Order or a Reparation Order. (Reparation means that the offender does something which is intended to go some way towards repairing the damage they caused by committing the offence.) You could be ordered to:

• apologise
• provide compensation in kind - such as practical work
• take part in victim/offender mediation

The Youth Offending Team will explain all this to you and deal with the court. If you're aged between 10 and 17, it's your first appearance in court and you plead guilty, the Youth Court must make a Referral Order to a Youth Offender Panel, unless they give you a custodial sentence.

The Youth Offender Panel will meet with you to draw up a contract as to how you can work on changing your behaviour and make reparation to either the victim or the community.

The victim can attend this meeting, or can provide information for the meeting, or ask to be kept informed of the outcome, or do nothing at all.

You can discuss these options with the Youth Offending Team worker. The panel meeting could result in reparation to you if you wish (see above) or to the community. Under the contract, the offender could be expected to do one or more of the following:

This process is called 'Restorative Justice'.
 
If you're aged between 18 and 20 you will probably go to a Young Offenders Institution. A YOI isn't that different to prison life for adult prisoners; however there are some differences in the way YOIs are run.

As with adult prisoners, an induction session is organised for the first few days at prison. This is an opportunity to talk through any concerns and issues as well as discussing opportunities for education and training during your sentence.

A 'sentence plan' is developed for all young offenders who have at least four weeks to serve. Not only does this help young offenders make the most of their time in custody, it also helps them plan for when they are released. The aim is to prepare young offenders as much as possible so that they can continue a law-abiding life after their release.

Every YOI offers education classes as well as practical training courses that will improve skills and improve their chances of finding a job once they have been released. Pre-release courses, led by Prison Officers and contributed to by specialists from outside the prison, help young offenders tackle the issues that might face them when they leave such as accommodation, benefits, drugs and family.

Some YOIs provide opportunities for young offenders to take part in Community Service Volunteers programmes. This might involve working with children with a disability or the elderly. Not only does this make a positive contribution to society, it also can provide invaluable work experience.

Recreation and interaction with other young offenders is encouraged and most YOIs provide at least one hour per day. At the weekends there are more opportunities for activities such as voluntary work, sports and leisure activities such as arts and crafts.

When your sentence is over and it's time for you to return to the community after a custodial sentence will have to "start again" in one way or another. Jobs, personal relationships and a way of life will have been interrupted and there will be a need to reset your life.

Aside from personal relationships the two most essential things to be secured are a home and a job, and these are the two items that FTC pays most attention to in setting up a post-release action plan.

An ex-offender will sometimes go either into further education or training before attempting to take on employment and there can be a strong case for some kind of voluntary work as the first stage towards a new working life.

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