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Serious Incidents: Guidance Updating Policy and Guidance on Reviewing Serious Incidents

NCJ Number
212520
Date Published
2005
Length
38 pages
Annotation
This report describes the best practice model for responding to serious incidents within the youth justice system in England and Wales.
Abstract
One of the primary aims of the Youth Justice Board in England and Wales is to promote consistency of practice among agencies working with youths. Serious incidents within the youth justice system are rare but when they do occur they need to be treated in an effective and systematic manner. This report defines serious incidents as: (1) the death of a young person in custody; (2) the death or attempted suicide of a young person under community supervision schemes; and (3) the charge or conviction of a young person alleged or found to have committed murder, attempted murder, manslaughter, or rape while under the statutory supervision of a young offender team (YOT). The serious incident reporting procedure developed by the Youth Justice Board is presented, including information on when to use the serious incident reporting system and how to notify the Youth Justice Board of a serious incident. A local management report of the serious incident is required, followed by serious incident review. The various types of reviews are described and the time scale for the each stage of the serious incident process is presented. A final section discusses how to respond to the local community and the media regarding a serious incident. Appendixes contain templates for the serious incident notification and local management report forms. Footnotes, appendixes