CJS working together for the public

If you have been found not guilty it means that you are innocent of the charge and will be acquitted for that offence. If you are acquitted of all the offences you are charged with, you will be free to go.

This means that after being sentenced, you are taken straight to the nearest prison, where the sentence will begin. If you have spent time in custody before the trial, the time in prison is often counted as having started from the date you were remanded in custody. If you are aged between 16 and 21 years old, you will be sent to a Young Offenders Institution rather than prison

Your age, background and criminal history, whether or not you pleaded guilty (and at what stage of the proceedings), and whether you have shown any remorse, can all be taken into consideration when you are sentenced.

There is a wide range of community sentences, and the court can order you to serve more than one. If you fail to comply with the terms of the order you could be taken back to court and fined for the breach or re-sentenced for the offence.

• Community Punishment Order means that you have to do a certain number of hours of unpaid work for the community. If you have a job you will have to do it during your own time;
• Community Rehabilitation Order means that for the duration of the order, you will be under the supervision of a probation officer;
• Attendance Centre Order means that you have to do certain activities while being supervised by an attendance centre officer;
• Drug Treatment and Testing Order. A court can order this if you have a drug problem, and it requires you to undergo treatment.

As well as sentences, there are a number of other outcomes that are possible if you are found guilty. These include:

• Fine - this is an order to pay money to the court. The amount can vary considerably depending on the circumstances of the crime.
• Compensation Order - if you are convicted, the court may order you to pay the victim compensation for any injury, loss or damage which they have suffered because of the offence.
• Conditional Discharge - this means that although you have not been punished for the offence, if you commit another offence within a time limit set by the courts, you could be re-sentenced for this offence as well as the new offence.
• Absolute Discharge - this means that although you are guilty of the offence, the court took the view that no punishment was necessary. Reasons for this could perhaps be: because of the circumstances of the crime; your previous good character; if the crime was very minor; or you are very young, or very old.

There is a wide range of sentences for young offenders, all of which have serious penalties if you fail to comply.

• Electronically Monitored Curfew Order involves the use of an electronic 'tag' around your wrist or ankle, and requires you to be in a certain place - usually your home - for certain times of the day;
• Detention and Training Order (DTO) means that you will usually serve the first half of the period of the order in custody, and for the second half you will be supervised by someone from social services or the National Probation Service;
• Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Order (ISSO) means that you will be supervised by a member of the local social services, National Probation Service or youth offending team. It involves surveillance up to 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and you must also undertake at least 25 hours a week face-to-face supervision over the first three months;
• Reparation Order requires you to 'pay back' in some way, either to the victim if the victim wishes, or to the community. This might include, for example, writing a letter of apology, or repairing criminal damage;
• Action Plan Order. This combines punishment, rehabilitation and reparation. This means that the court will set down a series of requirements that you have to comply with for a period of three months;
• Referral Order means that a community-led panel will negotiate a contract with you covering reparation and steps to tackle you offending behaviour;
• A Parenting Order can impose a requirement on your parent or guardian to attend counselling or guidance sessions for up to three months.

If you are convicted in the magistrates' court and appeal against the conviction, the whole trial will be heard again in front of a judge and two magistrates. If it is only the sentence that you appeal against, a Crown Court judge will consider the appeal and decide whether to change the sentence or to keep it the same.

If you appeal against a Crown Court conviction, the appeal will be heard by the Court of Appeal who will either quash the conviction which means it is no longer valid, order a retrial, which means the case has to be heard again, or leave the conviction as it is.