On the 1 April 2000 a new form of detention will come into force for those under 18 years of age.

Secure training orders will be abolished as will orders for detention in young offender institutions for this age group.

Detention in a young offender institution will remain available for those between 18 and 20.Section 53 of the Children & Young Persons Act 1933 will remain available following a trial in the crown court where the prosecution allege a grave crime.

Custody for life will also continue to be available under s.8 of the Criminal Justice Act 1982.For those younger than 12 years of age a detention and training order will not be available.

Thus only in the event of grave crime will it be possible for detention to be imposed on this age group.Between 12 and 17 a detention and training order will be available if the custodial criteria of s.1 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 are met, namely that the offence is so serious that only custody can be justified; or the offence is a violent or sexual one such that the public is at risk of serious harm from the defendant; or where an offender fails to express a willingness to comply with a requirement in a community order which requires an expression of such willingness.However, for those aged 12 but under 15 a detention and training order is only available if the defendant is a persistent offender.

Unfortunately the legislation does not define this term.

It was anticipated it would mean that this m ust be at least the defendant's third offence, which would be consistent with current practice in relation to fast tracking and with the existing provisions of secure training orders.The effect of a detention and training order is that one half of the sentence will be spent in detention undergoing training and the other half of the sentence spent under supervision in the community.

A supervisor will however, be closely involved in the programme from the outset so that there is a consistency of approach.

Because of the nature of these training programmes only seven detention and training orders may be made.

They must be either four months, six months, eight months, 10 months, 12 months, 18 months or 24 months.

It will not be possible for time spent in secure accommodation on remand to count towards the sentence.

It will therefore be necessary for advocates to address the bench about any time spent in secure accommodation or in very restrictive local authority accommodation so that an appropriate reduction can be made in the length of the sentence imposed.The provisions on the minimum length of sentence cause a particular anomaly for offences where three months imprisonment is the maximum penalty.

For these offences a detention and training order will not be available and because they are not grave crimes no custodial sentence could be imposed on those under 18.

This will be the case for offences of motor vehicle interference and of criminal damage up to £5,000 in value.It will be possible for detention and training orders to be made consecutive to each other but the total being served must not exceed 24 months.

If a defendant has been the subject of a detention order and released on supervision, however, that sentence will not count towards the 24-month total.

A new detention and training order can also not be made consecutive to one from which the defendant has been released on supervision.Whilst the normal rule will be that half a sentence is served in detention there are amendments which can be made to the time spent in detention to encourage those defendants who work well with their supervisors and to discourage those who take a negative approach.

For a defendant serving eight, 10 or 12 months they may be released by their supervisor one month early; for those serving 18 or 24 they may be released two months early.