Difficult words

We’ve listed them below, arranged alphabetically, and explained what they mean.

These explanations are to help you understand this charter. They’re not legal definitions.

A to Z

Absolute discharge

This is where the court decides not to take any further action, even though you have been found guilty.

Adult probation service

People who work for the probation service are responsible for supervising anyone aged 18 and over who has been released from custody or who has been given a community sentence. They are called probation workers.

Advocate

This is someone who can give you information, advice and support and help you understand your rights. They can also help you to raise concerns if you are unhappy about something.

Appeal

This is a formal request to reconsider a decision. This might be if you think a wrong decision has been made. One example would be if you are unhappy with where the Youth Custody Service has placed you and want to appeal their placement decision. A decision might not be changed even if you appeal.

Appropriate adult

This is a responsible person aged 18 or older who supports you at the police station and when you are interviewed by the police. An appropriate adult can be a parent, carer or other relative. If the person who normally looks after you cannot be your appropriate adult, the police will request a social worker or a trained appropriate adult from your local scheme.

Arrest

This is when a police officer uses their legal powers to take you to the police station. This could be to interview you.

Bail

This is your temporary release if you are being investigated about your involvement in a crime. When you are on bail you must return to the police station or go to court at a particular time and on a particular day. It is a criminal offence not to do this. Conditional bail is where you have to follow certain rules while you are on bail. If you don’t do this, you might be arrested.

Bail application

This is when your lawyer asks the judge or magistrates to release you on bail. Your lawyer will include information from the Youth Justice Service. You and your family should be helped to understand the reasons for this. If you don’t get released on bail, you can make more bail applications.

Bail decision

This is when the judge or magistrates decide whether to release you on bail or remand you (decide that you should stay in custody).

Body-worn cameras

These are recording devices worn by police officers. They can record video and sound when the police are around members of the public.

Carer

Someone who looks after and gives support to another person. This can be practical support (like cooking meals) and emotional support (like listening to the person if they are upset). Carers can be adults or children.

Case manager

The Youth Justice Service case manager is your main point of contact from your local Youth Justice Service. Your case manager will work with you, your family and other professionals to understand your situation and give you the support you need. They will make a plan to support you and help prevent you from committing a crime in the future.

Court or police cell

This is where you stay at a police station or in a court building waiting to go inside the court room. The door is locked to keep you and others safe.

Chaplain

A chaplain is a religious leader who can give you support and guidance. They can be of any faith and you don’t have to be religious to talk to them.

Charge

If the police believe you have committed a crime, they will charge you. This usually means you have to go to court. You will either be given bail and a date to attend court, or kept in custody at the police station and taken to court the next day.

Children’s Commissioner

There is a Children’s Commissioner for England and a Children’s Commissioner for Wales. They protect the rights of children and stand up for your views and interests. They can give you support and advice.

Citizens Advice

Citizens Advice is an organisation that can give you confidential advice about lots of different issues. They do this online, over the phone and in person.

Community sentence

This is a type of sentence where you are free to go home but you must follow certain rules and do certain things for a set amount of time. There are 2 types of community sentence, a Referral Order and a Youth Rehabilitation Order. If you receive a Referral Order, you’ll meet with a community panel who will help oversee your order.

Court order

This is when a judge or magistrate says that you must do something.

Crown Court

A type of court which deals with the most serious crimes, like murder. There is usually a jury in Crown Court trials.

Custody

Custody can mean a locked room in a police station, a locked room in court, or at the place where you stay if you are sentenced to custody (for adults this place is called a prison).

Custody staff

These are people who work in young offender institutions, secure training centres and secure children’s homes.

De-arrest

This means that you’re no longer under arrest. The police will release you because the reasons why they arrested you have changed.

Dock

This is a separate area in a court room where the person who is accused of committing a crime sits. Sometimes the dock is secure, which means it’s behind glass with court security staff.

Duty lawyer

This is a lawyer who gives legal advice, support and representation to someone who does not have a lawyer of their own. You do not have to pay for the duty lawyer.

Education providers

This could be a school, college or university

Guardian

This is the adult who’s responsible for looking after you and making decisions about your education, health and upbringing.

Hearing

A formal meeting in the court where decisions are made about a criminal case.

Independent Monitoring Board

This is a group of volunteers who visit young offender institutions and report on whether they are safe and the young people there are being treated fairly. They are separate from the people who run the young offender institution. You can ask to talk to them privately about any problems you might have, and they will help where they can or get someone to help you.

Independent Office for Police Conduct

This is an organisation that investigates the most serious complaints involving the police. They are separate from the police.

Independent Prisoner Complaint Investigations

This is an organisation that investigates complaints made by anyone in secure training centres or young offender institutions.

Independent reviewing officer

This is someone who leads reviews for ‘looked after children’. Their main job is to make sure that your care plan meets your needs. They are separate from your social worker.

Induction

This is when you are helped to settle in and find out about the secure accommodation and the people who work there. You will learn what you can and cannot do.

Intermediary

This is someone who can help you communicate with the police or the people in court. Their job is to help you and the adults understand what each other say. They can help you understand the questions you’re asked and also help you give your answers clearly.

Judge

This is the person in charge of the court room. In the Crown Court, the judge will tell the jury about the law. The judge makes the decision about what should happen if you are found guilty of a crime.

Jury

A jury is a group of 12 people who listen to all the evidence in the trial and decide if you are guilty or not guilty.

Lawyer

This is someone who’s trained to understand the law. They will make sure you know your rights, explain to you what’s happening, and give you legal advice. The lawyer works for you (not the police or the court).

Licence

If you’re ‘on licence’ or ‘released on licence’, it means you will complete the rest of your sentence in the community, after you have spent time in custody. When you are on licence, you must stick to certain rules and you will be supervised by your Youth Justice Service case manager. If you do not stick to the rules, you might have to go back into custody. Sometimes a licence is called a ‘notice of supervision’.

Local authority

This is another name for the local council or local government. They run services like schools, sports centres, social services and Youth Justice Services.

Local authority accommodation

This is a place to live that’s provided by the local council (also called the local authority). If you are remanded to local authority accommodation, you will be told where you must live while you wait for your trial. This could be at your family home, a temporary foster home or in a children’s home.

Looked after child

This means that your local authority has responsibility for your care and wellbeing. You will have a social worker whose job is to look after your best interests.

Magistrate

This is someone who does a similar job to a judge. There are usually 2 or 3 magistrates who work together in a youth court. They listen to all the evidence and make decisions, including about what should happen if you are found guilty.

Mobility

This means you’re allowed to leave custody for a short time. It might also be called release on temporary licence.

Offence

Committing an offence means doing something that is against the law.

Open day

This is when you can visit a school or college to see what it’s like and find out what courses it teaches.

Out of court disposal

This is something the police might give you if they think you have broken the law. It means that you do not have to go to court. There are different types of out of court disposals with different rules and things you will need to do.

Personal advisor

This is someone who offers advice, support and information to young people leaving care. They will work alongside your social worker to help you prepare for adulthood and will continue to support you once you’ve turned 18.

Placement

This is the type of secure accommodation you’re going to or staying in.

Police custody

Staying in police custody means you stay in the police station. Sometimes you might stay in police custody until your first court hearing. This might happen if you have been remanded by the police and there’s no space for you to stay in appropriate local authority accommodation.

Prisons and Probation Ombudsman

This is an organisation that investigates complaints from adult prisoners, children in young offender institutions or secure training centres, and people on probation. They are not part of the government.

Reasonable grounds

This means that a police officer must genuinely suspect or believe that they will find an item before they stop and search you.

Release on temporary licence

This means you’re able to leave custody for a short time. It might also be called mobility.

Remand

If you’re charged with an offence and refused bail, you will be remanded. This means the judge or magistrate decides that you should stay in local authority accommodation or youth secure accommodation. The decision is made at a remand hearing.

Remand to local authority accommodation

This can be living at home, with a relative, in foster care or in a children’s home. A remand to local authority accommodation usually has rules (called ‘conditions’) such as places you cannot go or people you cannot talk to. You must follow the conditions of your remand. If you do not follow them, you may have to stay in youth secure accommodation until your next court appearance.

Resettlement plan

This is a plan for when you’re released from custody. It should include any support you may need to move on with your life. This might also be called a sentence plan.

Resettlement worker

This is someone who will work with you, your Youth Justice Service case manager, your social worker and your personal advisor (if you have one) to help you plan for leaving custody. This could include your health needs, your education or employment, and where you will live.

Secure accommodation

This is somewhere you have to stay if you’re given a custodial sentence or you’re remanded to custody. A judge or a magistrate decides how long you have to stay there. There are different types of secure accommodation, including young offender institutions, secure training centres, secure children’s homes and secure schools. These all make up the youth secure estate.

Secure children’s home (SCH)

This is a type of youth secure accommodation. SCHs are smaller than young offender institutions, with 5 to 20 children and young people staying in each home.

Secure school

This is a new type of youth secure accommodation. It’s a smaller site with several living units. There will be up to 6 children and young people staying in each unit.

Secure training centre (STC)

This is a type of youth secure accommodation. STCs have several living units. There can be 4 to 8 children and young people staying in each unit.

Sentence

A judge or magistrate can give you a sentence if you are guilty of committing an offence. A sentence is an order from the court that you must follow. There are different types of sentences. All sentences have certain requirements you must follow but some involve going to custody (custodial sentences) whereas others (community sentences) mean you can stay at home. A ‘sentencing hearing’ is when the court decides what your sentence will be.

Social worker

This is someone from your local authority who’s trained to support children and their families who may be having difficulties.

Stop and search

This is when police use their legal powers to stop and search you. There are different types of searches and each have different rules that the police must follow:

Outer clothing search

Removal of ‘outer clothing’ – for example, a jacket, coat or gloves.

More thorough search

Removal of more than outer clothing – for example, a t-shirt, but does not expose intimate body parts.

Search exposing intimate parts

Removal of clothing that exposes intimate body parts.

Substance misuse team or worker

These people will help you if you have a problem with drugs or alcohol.

Supervision

This is when you meet with your Youth Justice Service case manager. This might be as part of your bail conditions or as part of your sentence. You must go to these meetings.

Transition

This is when you move from the youth custody estate to the adult custody estate when you’re 18.

Trial

This is when a court hears all the evidence in a case and decides if you are guilty or not guilty. In the Crown Court this decision is made by a jury. In the youth court this decision is made by a judge or several magistrates.

Youth caution and youth conditional caution

A caution is a warning the police can offer you if you admit to committing a minor (non‑serious) offence. This is instead of going to court. A conditional caution means that there are certain things you must do.

Youth court

A special type of criminal court for 10 to 17 year olds who have been charged with a criminal offence. All cases start in the youth court but if the crime you’re accused of is very serious, the case will then go to the Crown Court.

Youth Custody Service

The Youth Custody Service is responsible for running the youth secure estate for children and young people in England and Wales.

Youth Justice Service (YJS) or Youth Offending Team (YOT)

A team of professionals (including police, social workers and substance misuse workers) who work with you if you have committed, or are suspected of committing, a crime. The work they do with you might be voluntary or compulsory and will depend on your circumstances and the crime you have been involved in.

Young offender institution (YOI)

A YOI is a type of youth secure accommodation. It’s a site with several living units. Between 30 to 60 children and young people can stay in each unit.

Youth secure estate

This is made up of the different types of accommodation you can be placed in if you are sentenced or remanded to custody. The types of accommodation are young offender institutions, secure training centres, secure children’s homes or a secure school.

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