email: info@sgkllp.com call: 020 7734 9700
If you have been requested to attend an interview or have notification of court proceedings, please contact us today.
Being interviewed in a police station or facing a criminal trial can be terrifying for adults. The experience is altogether more alien, and potentially damaging, to young people and children.
Our experienced and communicative criminal solicitors and paralegals help children and young people at every stage of the criminal justice process.
We are alive to the potential for children to be used by gangs and we make use of the Modern Slavery Act to avoid criminalisation of victims of child criminal exploitation, particularly in the context of "county lines" gangs.
The offences that young people face in the courts are generally the same as those faced by adults. It is the procedures and outcomes that differ. And as with adult clients of the firm, it is essential to win the confidence of the client, ensuring that they understand fully the process going on around them, the choices they will be asked to make, and the potential consequences of those choices.
We work with supportive family members to provide the support and advice needed for our young clients. We engage with the police and CPS to end investigations quickly, seeking alternative resolutions to criminal court proceedings.
At the police station, we represent children and young people when they are being questioned by the police and advise them on their options for interview, protecting their rights and advancing their interests. For court matters we provide specialist representation and, as required, make use of the best barristers, experienced in this work. Our lawyers can provide the specialist advice required by children at the police station.
How we can help
We can represent you wherever you are based, whether it be in the UK or overseas. We support our clients through every stage of the criminal justice process, including:
For more information on any of the above click here, or if you have been requested to attend an interview or have notification of court proceedings, please contact us today.
There are rules about how children must be treated at the police station, these are contained in the Codes of Practice or PACE codes.
Children have special rights:
1. Paragraph 3.13 Code C, section 34(2) & (3) Children and Young Persons Act 1933
2. Section 38(6) Police and Criminal Evidence (PACE) Act 1984
When deciding whether to charge a young person with an offence the police must refer to the ACPO Youth Gravity Matrix. This gives offences a score of 1, 2, 3 or 4 depending on their seriousness and any aggravating or mitigating factors.
A score of 1 will always result in the minimum response appropriate – for example a community resolution, caution or conditional caution.
A score of 2 or 3 will normally result in a caution unless the offending behaviour cannot satisfactorily be addressed by this in which case the police may consider a conditional caution or charge.
A score of 4 will normally result in a charge.
Some offences, such as knife crime, are the subject of national agreements to take a consistent and more serious approach and is discussed in more detail below.
Youth cautions
Children aged 10 – 17 years old can be given a youth caution or a youth conditional caution if they admit a criminal offence.
A caution is a warning about your behaviour but does not carry with it any requirements.
A youth conditional caution allows an authorised person (usually a police officer) or a relevant prosecutor (usually a member of the CPS) to decide to give a caution with one or more conditions attached.
Children and young people between the ages of 10 and 17 years old are treated differently from adults by the courts. Their cases are usually dealt with and sentenced in the youth court. The youth court is not a public court. However, some cases may be dealt with and sentenced in the crown court, for example those involving very serious offences such as murder or where the young person is being tried alongside an adult.
The sentencing framework is different for children and young people. For offenders under the age of 18 judges and magistrates must follow the definitive guideline for sentencing children and young people, which came into force in 2017.
When sentencing a child or young person, judges and magistrates must consider the main aim of the youth justice system: the prevention of offending. They will also consider the welfare of the child.
Other factors that affect the sentence given to a child or young person include:
The court has a number of options when it comes to the types of sentence that can be given to children and young people.
For detailed information on these follow the link: types of sentence
Whether you have to tell your employer or college about a criminal conviction will depend on whether it is spent or not.
Childhood convictions will remain on the Police National Computer for the rest of your life and may be revealed in certain circumstances even when spent such as:
If you recieved: Conditional Discharge The conviction is spent: At the end of the order
If you recieved: Referral Order The conviction is spent: At the end of the order
If you recieved: Fine The conviction is spent : After 6 months
If you recieved: YRO including YRO with ISS The conviction is spent: At the end of the order
If you recieved: DTO of 12 months or less The conviction is spent: 6 months after the end of the order
If you recieved: Detention of 12 months - 4 years The conviction is spent: 2 years after the end of the licence
If you recieved: Prison over 4 years The conviction is spent: 3.5 years after the end of the licence
We accept instructions on a private basis. We also conduct work funded through the Legal Aid system. Children will generally qualify for legal aid if it is required, however we do not take on all publicly funded cases and not all lawyers in the firm are available for this work. Please contact us to discuss private case costs and eligibility for legal aid.
Telephone: 020 7734 9700