Youth Rehabilitation Order

What is a Youth Rehabilitation Order?

The Youth Rehabilitation Order (YRO) is a community sentence with 18 ‘Requirements’. From 30 November 2009 judges and magistrates choose a single requirement or combination of requirements depending on the seriousness of the offence and the potential risk of harm the offender poses. The Requirements enables young people to engage with interventions most likely to address their offending behaviour.

The 18 Requirements are:

• Unpaid Work – between 40 and 300 hours, to be completed in 12 months. Projects include gardening, painting/decorating and removing graffiti. This work is called Community Payback and is run by the probation service.
• Activity – this could consist of activities leading to reparation, such as restorative justice.
• Programme – aimed at changing offending behaviour. These programmes designed to address the attitudes and patterns of behaviour that contribute to offending, such as programmes for sex offenders, domestic violence perpetrators or those who misuse drugs.
• Prohibited activity – the offender must refrain from participating in activities on a specified day or days or during a period set by the court.
• Curfew (usually with electronic monitoring) – the offender must remain for certain periods at a specified place.
• Exclusion – from certain areas – the offender may not enter a specified place for a period up to two years.
• Local authority residence – the offender must live as directed by the local authority.
• Residence – the offender must reside at a specified place.
• Mental health treatment – the Court must be satisfied that the mental condition of the offender is such that this kind of treatment is needed and that the offender is susceptible to it. This Requirement can only be given with the consent of the offender/parents/carers.
• Supervision – the offender must report as directed, complying with the Requirements of the Order.
• Drug treatment – the offender is required to have treatment to reduce or eliminate his/her dependency on or propensity to misuse drugs and provide samples for drug testing on a random basis. This Requirement can only be given with the consent of the offender/parents/carers.
• Drug testing – the offender agrees to give a sample (e.g. mouth swab) to ascertain whether they have drugs in their system.
• Attendance centre (for under 25s) – the offender must attend an attendance centre.
• Electronic monitoring – use of tagging and voice verification in checking someone is at a specified location during specified times.
• Education – this could consist of packages of work on basic skills, employment, training and education or include active plans related to maintaining education in conjunction with schools.
• Intensive fostering – this is an alternative to custody and is given only to young people who have committed very serious offences. You live with the foster family under their rules.
• Intensive supervision and surveillance (ISS) -ISS is an alternative to custody given to young people who have committed serious offences. It involves numerous contact with the YOT and an intensive work plan.
• Intoxicating substance treatment – the offender is required to attend treatment to reduce or eliminate dependency on alcohol. The Requirement can only be given with the consent of the offender/parents/carers.