Part 4Court proceedings against a youth

Part 4—Court proceedings against a youth Division A1—Interpretation 15A—Interpretation For the purposes of this Part, the following matters must be taken into consideration by the DPP or the Magistrates Court (as the case requires) in deciding whether a youth poses an appreciable risk to the safety of the community: (a) the gravity of the offence with which the youth is to be charged; (b) if the offence to be charged is part of a pattern of repeated offending by the youth—that fact and the circumstances surrounding the alleged offence; (ba) if the youth is a serious firearm offender; (c) the degree to which the youth has previously complied— (i) with any undertaking entered into by, or requirement or obligation imposed on, the youth under this Act; or (ii) with any bail agreement under the Bail Act 1985; (d) if the youth has previously been detained under this Act— (i) the behaviour of the youth while so detained; and (ii) any rehabilitation of the youth while so detained; (e) if the youth has previously been released on licence under this Act—the degree to which the youth complied with any condition specified in the licence; (f) any other matter that the DPP or the Magistrates Court (as the case may be) thinks fit in the circumstances. Division 1—The charge 16—Where charge is to be laid (1) Subject to this section, if a youth is to be charged with an offence to which this Act applies, the charge must be laid before the Court. (2) The DPP may, instead of laying a charge of an offence against a youth before the Court, lay the charge before the Magistrates Court if— (a) the youth is charged with a major indictable offence; and (b) the DPP is of the opinion that the youth poses an appreciable risk to the safety of the community and should, therefore, be dealt with in the same way as an adult. 17—Proceedings on charge laid before Youth Court (1) Subject to this Act, the Court will deal with a charge laid before the Court in the same way as the Magistrates Court deals with a charge of a summary offence and, in doing so, has the powers of the Magistrates Court. (2) The Court may, even though a charge has been laid, refer the subject matter of the charge (after the youth's guilt has been established either by admission or by the Court's findings) to be dealt with by a police officer or by a family conference. (3) If— (a) the offence with which the youth is charged is a homicide, or an offence consisting of an attempt to commit, or assault with intent to commit homicide; or (b) the offence with which the youth is charged is an indictable offence and the youth, after obtaining independent legal advice, asks to be dealt with in the same way as an adult; or (c) the Court or the Supreme Court determines, on the application of the DPP or a police prosecutor, that the youth should be dealt with in the same way as an adult because of the gravity of the offence, or because the offence is part of a pattern of repeated offending, the Court will conduct committal proceedings in relation to the charge, and may commit the youth for trial or sentence (as the case requires) to the Supreme Court or the District Court. 17A—Proceedings on charge laid before Magistrates Court (1) Subject to this section, Part 5 of the Summary Procedure Act 1921 applies to the procedure to be followed in relation to a charge of an offence that has, under this Division, been laid against a youth before the Magistrates Court. (2) At the conclusion of the committal proceedings, the Magistrates Court may— (a) if of the opinion that the youth poses an appreciable risk to the safety of the community—commit the youth for trial or sentence (as the case requires) to the Supreme Court or the District Court; (b) in any other case—commit the youth for trial or sentence (as the case requires) to the Court. Division 2—Procedure on committal proceedings and trial in Youth Court 18—Procedure on trial of offences The procedure to be followed by and the powers of the Court on the trial of an offence are, subject to this Act, to be the same as for the trial of a summary offence in the Magistrates Court. 19—Committal for trial If committal proceedings are to be conducted by the Court, the procedure to be followed by and the powers of the Court are, subject to this Act, the same as for committal proceedings in the Magistrates Court. 19A—Proceedings for child sexual offences (1) If committal proceedings take place in the Court for a charge of a child sexual offence— (a) an audio visual record of the evidence of the alleged victim may be admitted in the proceedings if the recording— (i) is of evidence given by the alleged victim in earlier criminal proceedings; or (ii) has been made pursuant to Part 17 Division 3 of the Summary Offences Act 1953 and— (A) the Court is satisfied as to the alleged victim's capacity to give sworn or unsworn evidence at the time the recording was made; and (B) the Court is satisfied that the defendant has been given a reasonable opportunity to view the recording; and (b) despite any other Act or law, the alleged victim cannot be required to give oral evidence for the purposes of the committal proceedings except evidence in the form of such an audio visual record. (2) In this section— child sexual offence means a sexual offence committed in relation to a person under the age of 18 years; sexual offence has the same meaning as in the Evidence Act 1929. 20—Change of plea Even though a plea of guilty to a charge has been entered, the Court may direct at any stage of proceedings before their final determination that the plea be withdrawn and a plea of not guilty entered. 21—Recording of convictions If the Court finds a youth guilty of a major indictable offence, the Court should record a conviction for the offence unless there are in the opinion of the Court special reasons for not doing so, and a formal record of those is made in the Court's reasons for judgment. Division 3—Sentence 22—Power to sentence (1) Subject to this Division, the Court has the same powers to sentence a youth for an offence— (a) if the offence is a summary offence—as the Magistrates Court; or (b) if the offence is an indictable offence—as the District Court. (2) Any powers conferred on a Minister of the Crown by the Sentencing Act 2017 are exercisable, in relation to a youth or a sentence imposed on a youth, by a Minister assigned by the Governor to exercise such powers in relation to youths. 23—Limitation on power to impose custodial sentence (1) Subject to subsection (6), the Court cannot sentence a youth to imprisonment. (2) If an offence of which a youth is convicted, or found guilty, is punishable by imprisonment where committed by an adult, the Court may sentence the youth to— (a) detention in a training centre for a period not exceeding three years; or (b) home detention for a period not exceeding 12 months, or for periods not exceeding 12 months in aggregate over 2 years or less; or (c) detention in a training centre for a period not exceeding 2 years to be followed by home detention for a period not exceeding 12 months. (3) If, however, the maximum term of imprisonment prescribed for the offence is less than three years, the period of detention to which the youth is sentenced cannot exceed that maximum. (4) A sentence of detention must not be imposed for an offence unless— (a) the offender is a recidivist young offender or a serious firearm offender; or (b) in any other case—the Court is satisfied that a sentence of a non‑custodial nature would be inadequate— (i) because of the gravity or circumstances of the offence; or (ii) because the offence is part of a pattern of repeated offending. (5) A sentence of home detention— (a) must not be imposed unless the Court is satisfied that the residence the Court proposes to specify in its order is suitable and available for the detention of the youth and that the youth will be properly maintained and cared for while detained in that place; and (b) should not be imposed if the Court is not satisfied that adequate resources exist for the proper monitoring of the youth while on home detention by a home detention officer. (6) If the Court sentences a youth to detention in respect of an offence and does not suspend the sentence, the following provisions apply: (a) where the youth is already in custody in a prison, the youth will serve the detention, or such part of it as the Court may direct, in a prison; (b) where the youth has previously served a sentence of imprisonment or detention in a prison, the Court must, unless satisfied that there are exceptional circumstances for not doing so, direct that the youth serve the detention in a prison; (c) where the sentence of detention will extend past the youth's 21st birthday, the Court must, unless satisfied that there are exceptional circumstances for not doing so, direct that any period of the detention that is to be served by the youth after he or she reaches 21 years of age is to be served in a prison rather than in a training centre. (7) The Correctional Services Act 1982 applies to and in relation to a youth serving detention in a prison under subsection (6). 24—Limitation on power to impose fine The Court may not impose a fine exceeding $2 500 for an offence. 25—Limitation on power to require community service (1) The Court may not require a youth to carry out community service if the aggregate requirement to which a youth is subject at any one time exceeds 500 hours. (2) The period, to be stipulated by the Court, over which community service is to be performed may not exceed 18 months. 26—Limitation on Court's power to require bond (1) The Court may not, in the exercise of its power to sentence a youth for an offence, require the youth to enter into a bond. (2) The Court may, however, by order of the Court, impose an obligation of the kind that might otherwise have been imposed under a bond. (3) The obligations imposed under subsection (2) may, for example, include the following: (a) an obligation to submit to supervision as ordered by the Court; (b) an obligation to participate in a specified programme, or to attend a specified activity centre; (ba) an obligation to carry out specified work (whether for the benefit of a victim of the offence, a person who has suffered loss or damage or for any other person or body); (c) an obligation to reside where directed by the Court. (4) A person who fails to comply with an obligation imposed under this section is guilty of an offence. Maximum penalty: $2 500 or detention for 6 months (or both). (5) If an order has been made under this section imposing an obligation that a person be supervised for a period that will extend past the person's 21st birthday, the Court may, on application by the person or the Chief Executive, direct that, after the person reaches 21 years of age, the person be supervised by a community corrections officer rather than by a community youth justice officer. (6) In subsection (5)— community corrections officer means a community corrections officer under the Correctional Services Act 1982. 27—Court may require undertaking from guardians The Court may release a youth on an undertaking on condition that the guardians of the youth enter into a supplementary undertaking with the Court— (a) to guarantee the youth's compliance with the conditions of the youth's undertaking; and (b) to take specified action to assist the youth's development and to guard against further offending by the youth; and (c) to report at intervals stated in the supplementary undertaking on the youth's progress. 28—Power to disqualify from holding driver's licence (1) If the Court is of the opinion that a youth who has been found guilty of an offence is not a fit and proper person to hold or obtain a licence to drive a motor vehicle, or that disqualification from holding such a licence is an appropriate penalty for the offence committed, the Court may make an order disqualifying the youth from holding or obtaining such a licence, except for such purposes (if any) as may be specified in the order, for a period of stated duration commencing from a specified time. (2) On application by the youth, the Judge of the Court or a magistrate of the Court may, if satisfied that it is just or expedient to do so, vary or revoke any order for disqualification made under subsection (1). (3) A youth is not entitled to apply to the Magistrates Court for an order removing a disqualification pursuant to section 172 of the Road Traffic Act 1961 until after attaining the age of 18 years. Division 4—Sentencing of youth by Supreme or District Court 29—Sentencing of youth by Supreme or District Court (1) Subject to this Act, where a youth is committed to the Supreme Court or the District Court for trial, and is found guilty on trial in that court, or is committed to the Supreme Court or the District Court for sentence, that court, on sentencing the youth, may— (a) deal with the youth as an adult; or (b) make any order in relation to the youth that may be made by the Youth Court on sentencing a youth; or (c) remand the youth to the Youth Court for sentencing. (2) If a youth is found guilty by the Supreme Court or the District Court of an offence that is a lesser offence than the one on which the youth was committed for trial, the court cannot deal with the youth for that offence as if he or she were an adult unless— (a) the offence is an indictable (but not minor indictable) offence; and (b) the court is satisfied that, because of the gravity of the offence or the youth's history of offending, the youth should be dealt with as if he or she were an adult. (3) If a youth is committed for trial or sentence in the Supreme Court or the District Court at his or her own request, the court cannot deal with the youth for the offence as if he of she were an adult unless the court is satisfied that, because of the gravity of the offence or the youth's history of offending, the youth should be dealt with as if he or she were an adult. (4) A youth who is found guilty of murder— (a) must be sentenced to imprisonment for life; and (b) must be dealt with as an adult.