Courts        

Referral Procedure

Once the verdict and penalty have been announced, the Court must decide whether the offender is suitable for the Scheme.  Most Courts, conscious of current 'Human Rights' legislation, refer all drink drive offenders for training.

Making a Referral Order involves the following:

• assessing suitability
• offering the course to the offender
• the offender accepts or declines
• the Hearing ends
• if the offender accepts, the completed Referral Order is forwarded to the training provider

The guidelines to the Scheme list several factors which affect suitability:

• a place is available on an approved course (VMCL are approved training providers and guarantee to train all offenders referred to them under the Scheme, making it unnecessary for the Court to check availability)
• the offender is at least 17 years old
• the offer has been explained to the offender in ordinary language

Once an offer has been made to the offender, the Court should state:

• the amount of reduction in the disqualification period the offender will receive for completing the course
• the date on which the reduced ban ends
• the date by which the course must be completed

VMCL has designed an easy to use calculator on diskette, which automatically produces the above dates.  The calculator is available free of charge to Magistrates, Sheriffs and Court Officials - simply contact our office.  

The offender must agree to the offer of attending the course before an Order is made.  Inclusion in the Scheme is voluntary; there is no penalty for choosing not to be included.

After the Hearing, the Court's administration section creates the Referral Order.  The Order is signed by an Officer of the Court and a copy forwarded to the training provider.  To simplify this process, VMCL provides Courts with printed Referral Forms and Postage Paid Envelopes to return the completed forms to our office.

As an alternative, some Courts forward Referral Forms by Fax or Email.