How Children are Treated by the Courts

Any child can be arrested by the police. If the child is under 17, the child’s parent or guardian must be present when the police are interviewing the child. If a child does not have a parent or guardian that can be present, another ‘appropriate adult’ can be present, such as a teacher.

Children in court are treated differently than adults. A child that is under 10 years old cannot be charged with a criminal offence or taken to court. However, it is important to note that children in court that are over 10 years old are treated in the same way as any young person. A young person is defined as anyone under the age of 18. The Youth Justice System will deal with children in court under criminal charges.

Depending on the offence that your child has committed, they may not have to appear in court. Minor misbehaviour will usually result in a Court Order. A child’s time spent in the court system is always minimised where possible to reduce the stress upon them.

Children in the court system will usually appear before the Youth Court. If your child has committed a more serious offence, they may appear before the Crown Court. The police will tell you if the offence your child has been charged with is serious or not and which court they will have to appear before. You can also contact your local Youth Offending Team that can give you help and advice about children in court.

The police may also want to call your child as a witness in a case they are bringing to court. Children in court that give evidence can often do so over a closed-circuit video link if they are very young. This ensures that the trauma that the court process may have on them is minimised.

If you would like to obtain legal advice about children and the courts, Contact Law can put you in touch with a local specialist solicitor free of charge. So, if you have any questions or would like our help in finding local solicitors please call us on 0800 1777 162 or complete the web-form above.