A prison sentence for 12-17 year olds which can be for 4, 6, 8, 12, 18 months or 2 years.
Children aged 12 – 14 can only receive a DTO if they are considered a persistent offender.1
For the first half of the sentence children are in custody and for the second half they are supervised by the Youth Offending Team. Breach of the supervision requirements can lead to being sent back to custody for up to 3 months.
- 1. The term is not defined but someone having committed “imprisonable offences on at least three occasions in the past 12 months” can reasonably classed as a “repeat offender” Paragraphs 6.4 - 6.7, Sentencing Children and Young People - Definitive Guidelines (Effective from 1 June 2017)