NCJ Number
166261
Date Published
1996
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This article describes how the British criminal justice system fails children accused of murder and other serious offenses.
Abstract
The British criminal justice system places a child as young as 10 in an adversarial framework designed for adults, and judges that child essentially by the same standards. During police investigation of an offense as serious as murder, child suspects can expect to be placed in a potentially hostile and bewildering environment, cut off from the outside world, with authority's central focus on the incidents leading to the death rather than background causes. Children charged with murder cannot have medical, behavioral, educational and social needs addressed until after the trial. Other shortcomings of the British criminal justice system with regard to the treatment of children are detailed under: Limits to Detention; Free Legal Advice and the Appropriate Adult; The Police Interview; The Decision to Charge and Bail; Remands Into Custody; The Decision to Prosecute; and The Role of the Media. Children who commit violent offenses have invariably also been the victims of violence and abuse. This does not minimize the impact of their offending but it is a strong argument for removing young people in trouble from the criminal justice system. Endnotes