In the United Kingdom under the commitment of “New Labor” to be tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime, a final warning was intended to introduce a highly structured, assessment-based approach to young offenders. When a subsequent or more serious initial offense occurred by a young offender, it is met with a final warning. A final warning would be given by a police officer with a referral made to a multi-agency Youth Offending Team (YOT). In 1998, a contract to evaluate the pilot Youth Offending Teams (YOT's) was conducted by the Home Office. This article discusses evidence from the 2-year study of the pilots’ implementation of the final warning. The pilot YOTs’ evaluation was concerned with both outcomes and implementation processes. It was argued that academics’ criticisms of the final warning have been premature. The pilot YOTs’ evaluation of final warnings presents findings that at times gel with and at times qualifies strongly more general arguments about contemporary change in criminal justice policy. The major themes of final warnings policy and the general course of policy implementation and development at the local level are in line with government control at a distance. References