Youth Court Bench Book and Pronouncement Cards
CriminalMagistrates' courtBench Book
The Youth Court Bench Book provides guidance for magistrates who sit in the youth court dealing with defendants under the age of 18. It is used for reference at court and to support consistent training. The Bench Book is supplemented by national sentencing guidelines, checklists and pronouncement cards. These help magistrates undertake the task of decision making in a fair and structured manner. The Youth Court Pronouncement Cards assist magistrates to explain their decisions fully and clearly.
The latest edition of the Youth Court Pronouncement Cards (dated January 2023) includes amendments to the pronouncements for Detention and Training Orders and remands to youth detention. All cards have been updated to refer to the renaming of the Youth Offending Service/Teams (YOS/YOT) to Youth Justice Services (YJS). The cards for Reparation Orders and Individual Support Order cards have been removed as they are no longer required.
These updates will be the last occasion the pronouncements cards are updated in their PDF format. From 1 April 2023, the pronouncements will only be available online via the Pronouncement Builder on the Sentencing Council website.