THIRD GROUP OF PARTSDisposals

PART 10Custodial sentences

CHAPTER 2Offenders aged under 18

Detention for specified period

I1C1249Sentence of detention under section 250: availability

1

A sentence of detention under section 250 is available where a person aged under 18 is convicted on indictment of an offence listed in the following table F1(but the court is not required to pass a sentence of detention under section 252A)

Offences punishable with imprisonment for at least 14 years

(a)

an offence which—

  1. i

    is not an offence for which the sentence is fixed by law, and

  2. ii

    is punishable in the case of a person aged 21 or over with imprisonment for 14 years or more;

Sexual offences

(b)

an offence under any of the following provisions of the Sexual Offences Act 2003—

  1. i

    section 3 (sexual assault);

  2. ii

    section 13 (child sex offences committed by children or young persons);

  3. iii

    section 25 (sexual activity with a child family member);

  4. iv

    section 26 (inciting a child family member to engage in sexual activity);

Offences related to firearms

(c)

an offence (other than one within paragraph (a)) which—

  1. i

    is listed in Schedule 20 (firearms offences to which minimum sentence applies), and

  2. ii

    was committed when the offender was aged 16 or over.

2

For circumstances in which a court is required to impose a sentence of detention under section 250, see—

a

section 258 (required sentence of detention for life);

b

section 311 (minimum sentence for certain offences involving firearms that are prohibited weapons).

3

Where an offence is found to have been committed—

a

over a period of 2 or more days, or

b

at some time during a period of 2 or more days,

it is to be taken for the purposes of paragraph (c)(ii) of the table in subsection (1) to have been committed on the last of those days.