Criminal Justice Act 1982

5 Consecutive terms and aggregate periods of detention

(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, any court which makes a detention centre order may direct that the term of detention under the order shall commence on the expiration of a term of detention under another detention centre order.

(2) No court shall—

(a) make a detention centre order in respect of an offender who is subject to another such order ; or

(b) give a direction under subsection (1) above,

if the effect would be that the offender would be ordered to be detained in a detention centre for more than 4 months at a time.

(3) If a court makes such an order or gives such a direction in respect of an offender aged less than 15 years, so much of the aggregate of all the terms of detention in a detention centre to which he is subject as exceeds 4 months shall be treated as remitted.

(4) If a court makes such an order or gives such a direction in respect of an offender aged 15 years or over, he shall be treated for all purposes as if he had been sentenced to a term of youth custody equal to the aggregate of all the terms of detention in a detention centre to which he is subject.

(5) Where

(a) an offender not less than 15 years of age is serving a term of detention in a detention centre ; and

(b) on his conviction of an offence the court by which he is convicted considers that the only appropriate method of dealing with him is to pass a custodial sentence on him; and

(c) the length of sentence which the court considers appropriate is such that the period for which he would be ordered to be detained by virtue of the sentence, together with the period for which any detention centre order to which he is subject directed that he should be detained, would exceed 4 months,

the sentence that the court is to pass is a youth custody sentence for the term which it considers appropriate.

(6) Where a court passes a youth custody sentence on an offender under subsection (5) above, it shall direct that any detention centre order to which he is subject at the time of the conviction for which the youth custody sentence is imposed shall be treated for all purposes as if it had been a sentence of youth custody.

(7) Where a detention centre order is treated as a sentence of youth custody by virtue of this section, the portion of the term of detention imposed by the order which the offender has already served shall be deemed to have been a portion of a term of youth custody.