TAAS is able to offer a tailor made Bail support programme which is developed in close conjunction with the YOS.

This requires the Youth Offending Service to have a Community based activities in programmes designed to help ensure that defendants awaiting trial or sentence successfully complete their period of bail by returning to court on the due date, without committing offences or interfering with the course of justice and to assist the bailee to observe any conditions of their bail. We can help you to develop a Comprehensive Remand Strategy as required by the National Standards.

This can encompass:

• Appropriate Adult Provision
• Bail Information
• Bail Support
• Triage whilst at the police station
• Bail Supervision and support
• ISSP

Bail supervision and support is a matter to be considered as part of an overall strategy aimed at dealing with youth crime. The YOS need to monitor the number of young people who are remanded to custody or secure accommodation and take a pro-active role in pre empting remands.

T.A.A.S can work with them to :

• Minimise the amount of time young people spend in police custody by providing Appropriate Adults within 60
  minutes of the call out.
• Work with the Police and YOS teams to ensure that young people are transferred to local authority
  accommodation where ever appropriate.
• To divert from court young people who can be dealt with by final warnings.
• To ensure that young people attend court as required.
• To assess all young people at risk custody, non attendance and offending on bail using Bail ASSET/ONSET.
• To provide accurate and verified information to the YOS to assist in them in preparing information to the courts for the decision making process.
• To provide informal assistance to young people to prevent breaches of bail conditions.
• To provide individual bail supervision and support programmes for those at risk of having bail denied or where the court has concerns about non attendance and offending on bail.
• To ensure that vulnerability is assessed and that the YOS are informed so that and appropriate action can be taken.
• To minimise inappropriate remands to custody, secure accommodation and local authority accommodation by completing the ASSET/ONSET at the Police station.
• To ensure that remands to custody and secure accommodation only occur when all other options have been explored.

This will enable the YOS to :

• To review all remands to ensure that they are appropriate to, the seriousness of the offence, the protection of the public and the needs of the young person
• To protect vulnerable young people from the harmful effects of custodial remands and the looked after system
• To ensure that any custodial remand is for as short a period as possible

An effective remand management strategy ensures that decisions that need to be taken speedily will occur within a framework of good practice. TAAS will work with the YOS to ensure that the establishment of formal policies and procedures will ensure that any actions or decision taken is within this framework.

By ensuring effective partnership working between the YOS and TAAS will ensure that there is regular reporting to
the YOS team by developing:

• Clarity of purpose
• Firmly established boundaries
• Clear accountability

This will ensure that all parties understand their roles and responsibilities and that good communication
channels are in place. The remand management strategy will then be compatible with other strategic plans
of the YOS and its partners.

The way in which court work and remand management is organised varies considerably depending on the
geographical area covered, the volume of young people appearing in court and the resources available both
within the community and through the YOS.

We will prepare monthly monitoring to include age, gender, ethnicity, court attendance, reoffending, non compliance, and breach of orders.

This all enables the YOS manager to ensure that that there is bail supervision and support provision within their area for:

• Every young person who offends or who is involved in offending
• That they have access to equal treatment in the criminal justice system irrespective of race, gender, culture, disability, religion or sexual orientation
• Any young person requiring these services irrespective of the court where they appear, receives bail support
• Community based support is available across the whole of the geographical area covered
• There is appropriate provision reflecting the age, maturity and different needs of young people
• The younger age group and 17 year olds receive particular consideration
• Young people who are homeless or have little support in the community
• Children and young people who are accommodated by the local authority
• Young people with particular needs for example those with mental health problems, physical disabilities, or substance misusers
• Young people accused of serious offences
• Young people accused or previously convicted of sexual offences
• Children experiencing difficulties within the mainstream education system
• Those with learning difficulties
• Children and young people of varying ethnic and cultural backgrounds
• The particular needs of young women is supported

Staff Training

All staff will be subject to an enhanced CRB and POVA checks and will have received training in the following:

• Bail and associated legislation
• Remand management (principles and practice)
• Court and police procedures
• Report writing, negotiation and presentation skills
• The use of Bail ASSET and other assessment methods
• Risk assessment and risk management
• Developing bail supervision and support programmes
• National Standards
• Working with young people and their families
• Familiarity with local protocols and working agreements e.g. accessing placements
• Work within the secure estate
• Developing resources and links within the community
• Child protection
• Looked after children procedures
• Health and safety issues
• Data protection
• Issues of confidentiality

TAAS can offer you the workers to ensure that the YOS achieves the goal of ensuring that young people on bail supervision and support programmes are adequately supported and supervised so that wherever possible they do not breach their bail conditions.

A Bail Supervision and Support scheme established with TAAS means that the YOS have mechanisms to ensure they are aware of and are able to deal with all young people appearing at youth courts, adult magistrates’ courts and before a judge in chambers 365 days a year covering every court in the area. Ensuring that there is equitable resources available to all young people irrespective of the court and day of the week. This will help to ensure that young people are not unnecessarily refused bail.

This gives the YOS the opportunity to determine on a local basis how best to organise and provide this service to meet the need in their area.

Bail Supervision and Support staff can conduct interviews with the young person in police or court custody, and their parent or carer if available, and ensure that they have information, that wherever possible will be verified and factual, about the young person in order to assess their suitability for a BSS scheme.

A Bail ASSET can be completed and used to assist in the assessment of the particular needs of the young person, and any accommodation needs can be assessed.

Any young people detained overnight can be interviewed at court to assess and identify whether any intervention by the bail supervision and support scheme or court worker is necessary and to provide information about the scheme.

This means that all young people seen in the court cells will be interviewed and assessed if they not are candidates for bail supervision and support.

Those who are likely to be denied bail, as well as those likely to re-offend on bail or fail to attend will have been assessed. The provision of factual verified information may help to secure bail for some young people.

The interview and assessment can be used as a filtering process. The likelihood of unconditional bail or conditional bail without support can be thoroughly explored to ensure that bail supervision and support is not offered unnecessarily. Similarly the provision of bail information may address any concerns and prevent the need for any further intervention. Bail supervision and support can then be offered when a young person satisfies the criteria for the scheme.

Minimum Number of Contacts

Standard 4.1 specifies that there must be a minimum of 3 contacts per week with the young person throughout the entirety of any bail supervision and support programme, irrespective of the programme’s length. It is a basic requirement that schemes ensure that there is adequate supervision at suitable and appropriate times in order to meet the aims of bail supervision and support.

By using TAAS’ 24/7, 365 days a year availability the YOS can ensure that these contacts are covered

The initial programme planning meeting will specify the nature, type and frequency of the contacts as well as the person to whom the young person should be reporting.

A contact requires a young person to be at a specified place at a specified time for reporting purposes. This could mean being required to report to the YOS duty officer, undertake a specified activity at a nominated place, attend a specialist agency, meet with the bail worker, be available to meet with a volunteer or mentor or be at a specific location to receive a telephone call.

With our immediate reporting all contacts will be monitored and can be recorded on the young person’s file.

The YOS will be able to identify the number and intensity of contacts proportionate to the seriousness of the alleged offence, the degree of perceived risk to the public and the level of support and supervision required.

During the progress of the programme the perceived degree of risk will be kept continually under review and any need to vary the level of contact can be auctioned immediately.

There is no upper or lower limit on the amount of time the YOS uses TAAS. The service will be available to the YOS whenever it is required. The YOS will have the flexibility to chose when to refer Bail Support Programmes to TAAS and when to complete them internally.

The YOS will be able to define the level of reporting and contact that is needed for each individual case, meaning that they can give consideration to:

• The nature, purpose and frequency of the contact
• The level of risk and seriousness of the offence(s)
• The young person’s previous response to complying with bail
• Any other risk factors which need to be monitored
• When and where the young person will be seen
• Whether contacts will include evenings and weekends
• The location of the contact, office, home or other suitable venues