In England and Wales, criminal law is delivered through two distinct systems: the adult and youth justice systems. The youth justice system was set up to prevent and control crime, anti-social behaviour and offences carried out by individuals under the age of 17 (with some exceptions extending to 18). It is overseen by the Youth Justice Board, which is an executive public body funded by the Ministry of Justice and set up under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. Its purposes are set out in section 41 of that Act.
The youth justice system of England and Wales is regulated by the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999, and is separate from the one in Northern Ireland and Scotland. In Northern Ireland, the youth justice system is regulated by the Justice Northern Ireland Act 2002. In Scotland, it is regulated by the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016 .
Criminal law Age of criminal responsibility Children under the age of 10 are irrefutably presumed to be incapable of committing an offence. Prior to 1998, a child aged between 10 and 13 was presumed under doli incapax to be incapable of committing an offence unless the prosecution were able to prove that the child knew the difference between right and wrong, although a range of mitigating factors particular to childhood are normally taken into account in England and Wales.Sentencing Guidelines Council, (2009), Overarching Principles – Sentencing Youths; definitive guideline, London: Sentencing Guidelines Council. Now, children aged between 10 and 17 are capable of committing offences and it is not possible for a child to avoid liability by showing that they do not know the difference between right and wrong.Crime and Disorder Act 1998, ; However, a child should not be found guilty if they are unfit to plead.
In exceptional circumstances, most notably the case of the murder of James Bulger in Liverpool in 1993, children can be tried as an adult in an adult court.
From the age of 18 onwards, individuals are then considered an adult in the eyes of the law. Therefore, all punishment given by the courts or other law enforcement agencies will rest solely upon them.
Criminal procedure before trial
Arrest After a person aged 10 to 17 has been arrested and taken to a police station, the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 requires that the custody officer ascertain the identity of a parent, guardian, Local Authority carer or any other person who has assumed responsibility for the juvenile's welfare and must inform them of the arrest. The custody officer should inform the appropriate adult (who may or may not be the same person) of the grounds for the detainee's detention and ask the adult to come to the police station to see the detainee. The juvenile should be told of the duties of the appropriate adult and that the juvenile can consult privately with the appropriate adult at any time, but warned that such conversations are not privileged.
The young person may not ordinarily be interviewed, be asked to provide or sign a written statement under caution, be asked to sign a record of interview without an appropriate adult being present. A superintendent may authorise an interview without an appropriate adult if: he is satisfied the interview would not significantly harm the person's physical or mental state; and delay would be likely to either lead to interference with, or harm to, evidence connected with an offence, lead to interference with, or physical harm to, other people, lead to serious loss of, or damage to, property, lead to alerting other people suspected of committing an offence but not yet arrested for it, or hinder the recovery of property obtained in consequence of the commission of the offence.
During an interview where an appropriate adult is present, an appropriate adult should: advise the person being interviewed; observe whether the interview is being conducted properly and fairly; and facilitate communication with the person being interviewed.
Prosecution, reprimands and final warnings The Crown Prosecution service has produced detailed guidance on prosecuting juveniles.
A police officer may proceed by way of reprimand or (final) warning, where the following conditions are satisfied: a constable has evidence that a child or young person ( "the offender") has committed an offence; the constable considers that the evidence is such that, if the offender were prosecuted for the offence, there would be a realistic prospect of his being convicted; the offender admits to the constable that he committed the offence; the offender has not previously been convicted of an offence; and the constable is satisfied that it would not be in the public interest for the offender to be prosecuted.Crime and Disorder Act 1998, .
A police officer can either give the offender a reprimand or a final warning. A final warning is more serious. Once a person has received one reprimand he cannot receive a second. A person may be given a final warning without a reprimand if the seriousness of the offence warrants this course. A person may exceptionally be given a second (but not a third) final warning if "the offence was committed more than two years after the date of the previous warning and the constable considers the offence to be not so serious as to require a charge to be brought".
In the case of a juvenile under the age of 17, the reprimand or final warning should be given in the presence of an appropriate adult. Where a police officer gives a final warning, he should refer the offender to the local youth offending team who should arrange for him to participate in a rehabilitation programme unless they consider it inappropriate to do so.Crime and Disorder Act 1998, .
The system of reprimand and final warning was replaced in 2013 by youth cautions and youth conditional cautions by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.
First appearance Having been formally accused of committing an offence, a juvenile will make his first appearance in the Youth Court unless: the juvenile is jointly charged with an adult; the juvenile is charged with aiding and abetting an adult (or vice versa); the juvenile is charged with an offence arising from the same circumstances as those in which an adult is accused of committing an offence.
Bail A juvenile has a general right to bail.
As for adults, the main reasons for refusing bail are that the defendant is accused of an imprisonable offence and there are substantial grounds for believing that the defendant: will abscond; will commit further offences whilst on bail; or will interfere with witnesses or otherwise obstruct the course of justice whether in relation to himself or any other person.Bail Act 1976, Schedule 1.
The court may also refuse bail for the juvenile's own protection or welfareBail Act 1976, Schedule 1, para. 3. For adults, the courts have a power to refuse bail for the defendant's own protection, but not for his welfare. or for a limited number of other reasons.See bail.
A juvenile's parent may be asked to act as a surety for up to £50 for the juvenile's attendance at court and compliance with any conditions attached to bail.Bail Act 1976, .
Detention in custody Where a juvenile is refused bail, he is normally remanded in local authority accommodation. He may be remanded in secure accommodation only if: the juvenile is over 10 years old; and either he is charged with or has been convicted of a violent or sexual offence, or an offence punishable in the case of an adult with imprisonment for a term of fourteen years or more, or taken together, the offences of which he has been convicted and with which he has been charged amount to a recent history of repeatedly committing imprisonable offences while remanded on bail or to local authority accommodation.Children and Young Persons Act 1969, .
Trial
Place of trial A juvenile will ordinarily be tried in the Youth Court. A juvenile may be tried in an adult Magistrates' Court only if he is charged alongside an adult.
A juvenile will be tried in the Crown Court where: Offence Discretion Court Homicide offencesMagistrates Act 1980, . must Crown Court Firearms offences where the mandatory minimum term applies must Crown CourtGrave crimesPowers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000, . offences carrying terms exceeding 14 years for adults sexual assault child sex offences may The court should consider representations only and not evidence. The defendant has no right to elect Crown Court trial. There must be a real possibility that the claimant could be sentenced to a custodial term in excess of two years.. The decision may be challenged by judicial review. Crown CourtSpecified offence punishable in the case of an adult by life or more than 10 years imprisonmentCrime and Disorder Act 1998, must if the court considers there is a significant risk to members of the public of serious harm occasioned by the commission by the offender of further specified offencesCriminal Justice Act 2003, .Crown CourtTried alongside adultAdult is to be tried in the Crown Court if it is necessary in the interests of justice that they both be tried in the Crown CourtCrown CourtAdult is to be tried in the Magistrates' CourtAdult Magistrates' Court
Trial in a youth court
A youth court is a magistrates' courtChildren and Young Persons Act 1933, . but a youth court has jurisdiction to try juveniles where a magistrates' court does not have a similar power to try adults. The magistrates and district judges who sit in a youth court will receive specialist training on dealing with young people. A youth court is presided over by either a district judge or a bench of two or three lay magistrates, which previously must (unless there are unforeseen circumstances) have included both a man and a woman,, rule 10. though this requirement has since been repealed.
A youth court is not open to the public. The victims of the crime, however, have the opportunity to attend the hearings of the court if they want to, but they must make a request to the court if they wish to do so. The needs and wishes of victims will always be considered by the court and, through the youth offending team (YOT), they often have the opportunity to have an input into the sentencing process. The only other persons who may be present are: members and officers of the court; parties to the case before the court, their solicitors and counsel, and witnesses and other persons directly concerned in that case (e.g. probation officers and social workers); parents or guardians; bonâ fide representatives of newspapers or news agencies; such other persons as the court may specially authorise to be present.Children and Young Persons Act 1933, .Children and Young Persons Act 1933, .
The following reporting restrictions apply automatically: no report shall be published which reveals the name, address or school of any child or young person concerned in the proceedings or includes any particulars likely to lead to the identification of any child or young person concerned in the proceedings; and no picture shall be published in any newspaper as being or including a picture of any child or young person so concerned in the proceedings as aforesaid.Children and Young Persons Act 1933, .
The restrictions may be lifted by the court: for the purpose of avoiding injustice to the child or young person or as respects a child or young person, who is charged with or has been convicted or a violent offence, a sexual offence, or an offence punishable in the case of a person aged 21 or over with imprisonment for fourteen years or more and is unlawfully at large, it is necessary to dispense with those requirements for the purpose of apprehending him and bringing him before a court or returning him to the place in which he was in custody or in respect of a child who has been convicted of an offence, in the public interest.