THIRD GROUP OF PARTSDisposals

PART 10Custodial sentences

CHAPTER 2Offenders aged under 18

Detention for specified period

249Sentence 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)

F2sections 258 and 258A (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.