Children aged 10 – 17 years old can be given a youth caution if they admit a criminal offence.
A youth caution is a formal out of court disposal. In order for a youth caution to be given, all of the following must apply:
- There must be sufficient evidence to prove an offence was committed.
- The child must admit guilt in relation to the offence.
- The officer must not consider that they should be prosecuted or given a youth conditional caution.
A child must have an appropriate adult if they are given a youth caution. The person administering the caution must explain the effect of the youth caution in ‘ordinary language’ and the child receiving the youth caution is entitled to free legal advice before accepting it (however, unlike adults they do not consent to receiving a youth caution).
The police must notify the Youth Offending Team (YOT) within one working day of the arrest of all children who have been given a youth caution or are being bailed for assessment by the YOT.
Whilst a youth caution is not a criminal conviction, it does represent a criminal record. A Youth Caution is spent and filtered immediately from DBS checks, which means that if asked, a person does not need to disclose it to an employer, and it will never automatically appear on DBS checks. However, the police retain the discretion to disclose a youth caution in an Enhanced DBS check if they consider it is appropriate. Enhanced checks are conducted when you apply for certain jobs such as working with children or vulnerable people.