Youth Justice Board /
Placement Policy

Youth Justice Board for England and Wales

Secure Accommodation Division

Placement Service

April 2013

Peter Minchin, Head of YJB Placement Service

Peter Minchin. YJB Head of Placement Service

Version 4
© YJB 2013
© Youth Justice Board for England and Wales 2013
The material featured in this document is subject to copyright protection under UK Copyright Law unless otherwise indicated. Any person or organisation wishing to use YJB materials or products for commercial purposes must apply in writing to the YJB at for a specific licence to be granted.

The YJB Placement Policy describes the principles under which the YJB Placement Service carries out its key functions and responsibilities.

YJB Placement Policy

1.The Youth Justice Board for England and Wales (YJB) has responsibility for the placement of children and young people under the age of 18 remanded or sentenced to detention by a court into youth detention accommodation.[1]

2.The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012has established a new remand framework for 10 – 17 year olds who are charged with or convicted of a criminal offence. It makes provision for all 10 – 17 year olds who have been refused bail to be remanded to local authority accommodation. Those 12 – 17 year olds who have been refused bail may alternatively be remanded to youth detention accommodation if the relevant criteria are met. It removes the previous complex distinctions based on age and gender, and imposes a more rigorous test before 12 to 17 year olds can be remanded to youth detention accommodation.

3.All young people remanded to local authority accommodation or youth detention accommodation will be looked after children whilst remanded. The placement decision for those made subject to a remand to youth detention accommodation will be made by the YJB Placement Service following consultation with the court designated local authority.

4.The placement and related powers of the YJB originate from section 41 of the the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, sections 102-103 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012,paragraph 14 of Schedule 5A to the Policing and Crime Act 2009 and the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales Order 2000.

5.The YJB recognises that the young people who enter the youth justice system are a diverse group with complex needs; many have significant risk factors, mental health problems, have care histories, poor school attendance and may be chronically abused and/or abusers.

6.The YJB commissions a range of places in different types of secure facilities, all of which provide a safe environment for the placement of young people. These are secure children’s homes (SCH), secure training centres (STC) and young offender institutions (YOI).

7.To ensure that the key functions relating to the placement process are met, the YJB has established a Placement Service, which is resourced with staff trained to make placement decisions in a timely and professional manner.

8.The primary aim of the YJB Placement Service is to:

“To place children and young people in establishments that can most effectively manage their individual risks and needs and by doing so provide them with an opportunity to reduce their likelihood of offending”

9.The key objectives are to:

  • place each young person in a timely and professional manor;
  • facilitate the sharing of key information electronically;
  • improve the performance of YOTs and courts in relation to the placement process;
  • make best use of resources available;
  • carry out a range of statutory functions;
  • deliver a robust, seamless, transparent and auditable service

10.The YJB Placement Service will endeavour to place children and young people into establishments that can most effectively manage their identified individual needs and risks.

11.Responsibility for assessing needs and identifying individual risk factors lies with youth offending services.

12.The final placement decision of the YJB Placement Service as to which type of establishment a young person is allocated is made by taking into account the individual risks and circumstances of the young person as assessed by the youth offending service dealing with the young person appearing before the court.

The following key factors are taken into account:

  • basic information (legal status, age, gender, location, court outcome);
  • specific risk factors as identified by the relevant youth offending service ;
  • risk of harm ;
  • risk posed to others ;
  • previous history within the secure estate ;
  • specific needs, for example the requirement for a specific programme of intervention, health education or welfare needs ;
  • availability of places, competing demand for places ;
  • co-defendant/gang-related issues ;
  • Youth Offending Team (YOT)’s placement recommendation and presentation at court ; and
  • discussions with prospective secure estate establishments to take into account the current mix of young people in that establishment

13.The YJB’s Placement Protocol provides more detail and information on the process and criteria for placing young people in secure facilities.

14.The YJB Placement Service will ensure that all assessment documentation is transferred electronically from YOTs to the secure estate and all future developments in relation to improving the flows of information, such as the Connectivity Programme, e-Asset, Youth to Adult transition will be fully integrated into placement’s ‘business as usual’ processes.

15.In addition to its placement responsibility the Service also has a seconded member of staff from NOMS to undertake a number of key statutory functions on behalf of the Secretary of State. These include:

  • early release decisions on DTOs in SCHs and STC
  • authorisation of movements and mobility for long termers
  • HDC approval for long termers
  • Licences for long termers

16.The YJB recognises that there are a number of key bodies that have responsibilities in relation to children and young people in the Youth Justice System. These include:

  • Ministry of Justice;
  • Home Office;
  • NOMS’ Young People’s Group;
  • NOMS’ Population Management Service;
  • Directorate of High Security Prisons;
  • Department for Education;
  • Department of Health
  • Local authorities
  • Providers of secure facilities
  • Youth Offending Services.
  • PECS & YJB escort provider
  • HMCTS
  • Third sector organisations

17.Accordingly, the YJB Placement Service will undertake to work collaboratively with those bodies to ensure the effective operation of the placement system. Where issues or deficiencies are identified it will seek to work with the bodies concerned to resolve the issue.

18.The YJB Head of Placement Service has access at all times to senior management within the Secure Accommodation Division and the YJB Executive Management Group, and will ensure that there are clear escalation and incident management procedures in place.

19.On-call arrangements to cover out of office hours are in place. The Head of Placement Service will ensure that there are robust processes and protocols in place to operate the placement functions effectively, and that these are regularly reviewed and updated.

20.The YJB has a contingency plan in place to ensure that the placements function is able to continue should the existing facilities not be available for use.

21.Data and information management is central to the work of the YJB Placement Service and its stakeholders. The YJB has invested in systems to ensure the process is managed properly and in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998. The Connectivity system was launched in 2008 as an accountable, efficient, secure and confidential process to transfer information required in the placement process. This document set is known as Eye. The YJB Placement Service has implemented changes to the eAsset system, (which is a sentence management database located in all under 18 secure estate establishments) which means the YJB Placement Service will create all new records in eAsset and upload the Eye documents. Oversight and review of these systems is regularly undertaken to ensure YOTs and establishments continue to use these systems effectively.

1

[1] S 107, Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 defines “youth detention accommodation” as:

  • a secure training centre (STC);
  • a young offender institution (YOI);
  • accommodation provided by or on behalf of a local authority for the purpose of restricting the liberty of children and young people;
  • accommodation provided for that purpose under subsection (5) of section 82 of the [1989 c.41.]Children Act 1989 (financial support by the Secretary of state); or
  • such other accommodation or descriptions of accommodation as the Secretary of State may by order specify.