Our Commitment to Defending Children and Young Persons in the Criminal Justice System

On Monday our lawyers attended the Youth Justice Legal Centre annual summit, where we heard from various youth law experts providing guidance to practitioners on how youths should be supported and guided when navigating the criminal justice system. It is paramount to our team that a specialist approach is applied when we are representing children and young people accused of sexual offences.

"By law, children have the right to express their opinions on decisions that affect them, and to have those opinions taken into account."

Being accused of a sexual offence is difficult for anyone, it has the ability to destroy lives and futures. Children are a group within society who have different vulnerabilities and needs to that of adults, and this difference applies greatly in matters which involve criminal proceedings, therefore special measures and laws are in place to protect children in the system and to prevent the criminalisation of the child. Ways in which we as criminal lawyers can ensure that a child is appropriately represented is by applying a participatory approach with our clients, making their voices heard and understood.

Our dedicated team work closely with our youth clients to build trust which encourages them to engage with us so that we can work to achieve the best outcome for them. From initial contact we explain to our youth clients what our role is, our duty towards them and ensure that they understand how we are here to help. Ways in which we build this trust can include:

Setting clear expectations
Explaining the process in clear language
Make it clear that we want to work with them and we are not associated with the police or courts
Ensure that they understand what injustice and justice means
Safeguarding the child from abuse of police power and ensuring that they feel safe and that they have support
Providing them with a voice and knowledge that they have choices in the decisions made about them

Police Involvement with Children

Children and young people are a protected group with specific vulnerabilities. Their treatment in detention is governed not only by domestic legislation but also by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) which the UK has signed and ratified.

The police are provided with guidance from various sources; the laws of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act, Criminal Justice Act, Government Policies and the guidance of the National College of Policing. However we sadly often come into contact with officers who either do not understand the approach that should be applied to child suspects, or they have total disregard to the laws and guidance.

From the decision to arrest a child care must be taken and an arrest must be avoided where necessary to avoid the criminalisation of children and bringing them into a custody environment, which as acknowledged by the government is a space designed for adult suspects, not children.

Statistics show that the longer a child spends exposed to such a setting can be harmful to their mental health and overall wellbeing. An arrest must only be made where two tests are met; the officer reasonably suspects that the child has been involved in the commission of a criminal offence, or they are about to commit an offence, and it is necessary to arrest. When applying the necessity criteria the officer is required to examine and justify the reason or reasons why the child needs to be arrested, considering the individual circumstances of the case, the situation of the complainant, the nature of the offence and the circumstances of the suspect. If the arrest is not necessary, then it is not lawful, and the child should not have been arrested. We often experience officers who clearly want to apply scare tactics on children.

Detaining a child should also be carefully considered if and when a child suspects arrives in custody. A child should only be held in a cell where it is absolutely necessary and consideration must be given to alternative places for the child to wait whilst they are in police custody. This may be in a different area of the police station with their appropriate adult or parents, or within local authority care if it is deemed the period of detention is going to be for some time.

Charging a Child with a Criminal Offence

It is a difficult decision for the CPS when they are deciding whether or not to charge a suspect, this process is much more difficult when the suspect is a child accused of a sexual offence. A specialist team work with the police, in addition the Youth Justice Services in some cases, which allows careful consideration to be given and principles applied to the decision which differ to those in adult cases.

There are many different outcomes for children accused of criminal offences, and it is important for your lawyers to be aware of those so that where they are engaging with the justice system on behalf of the child, they can negotiate alternative outcomes to court proceedings.

Youths Accused of Sexual Offences

The CPS guidance ‘Sexual offences and youths’ makes clear that prosecutors must have regard to the principal aim of the youth justice system, which is to prevent offending by children and young persons and must also have regard to the welfare of the suspect, noting that the overriding purpose of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 is to protect children. Prosecutors must also have regards to the obligations arising under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child . There are specific categories of offences in relation to children under 13, and under 16 and when defending a youth, our lawyers ensure that the police and CPS apply the correct laws and procedures which apply to the specific circumstances of the case.

Complaints Made by the School or College

Sexual allegations may sometimes arise at a child’s school, or be made directly to the school rather than to the police. If this occurs, the school may report this to the local authority designated officer, and social services may initiate either a s17 (child in need) or s47 (significant harm) investigation under the Children Act 1989.

Depending on the age of the child or the seriousness of the offence, the police may consider dealing with the matter by way of a referral to social services, which will likely in turn trigger a notification of the allegation to the school. Wherever possible, it is important to ensure that the child is not required to speak about the specifics of the incident to the school or to anyone else until the police investigation has concluded. Our lawyers would support and provide guidance on any accounts proposed to be given to the school or local authority when a child is accused of a sexual offence.

Parents or guardians may need to communicate with the school and ensure their cooperation in limiting rumours and protecting the child’s position and access to education wherever possible. There is no reason for social services or the school to discuss the specifics of the allegation during their safeguarding procedures, and the authorities involved should be aware of the importance of the child preserving their position whilst a police investigation is ongoing,

How We can Help

Our team are passionate about ensuring youths are looked after during a criminal investigation, we often spend considerable time fighting for the child's rights and for the correct procedures to be applied, particularly by the police.

Early engagement with services is crucial in all cases, particularly in youth cases because of the damage criminal investigations cause to the mental well being of children, but instructing lawyers with a specialist knowledge in the representation of youths is paramount to ensuring this engagement is done correctly.

If you have a child in your care, or you are a youth accused of a sexual offence then our lawyers will chat through the allegations made against you free of charge to explain how we can help. We promise to carefully explain the process in terms you can understand and, apply a compassionate yet robust approach to your case.