Being suspected of a crime can have serious consequences, no matter who the accused person is or whether the suspicion is merited.

But the impact of a criminal accusation on a child can be many times worse than for adults: not only are children more vulnerable to being taken advantage of; more likely to make mistakes; and less able to communicate; but a criminal allegation can profoundly alter the course of a young person’s life.

Very often, the parents and guardians of children under police investigation are confused by the criminal procedures they face. Hickman & Rose’s Anna Jemmison has produced a blog setting out the ten things they should know.

English and Welsh law treats young people (defined as being aged between 10 and 17 at the time of the alleged offence) differently from adults.

Young people are (so far as is possible) tried in special Youth Courts. Law enforcement agencies like the police are obliged to follow different procedures when dealing with them. Properly representing the legal interests of young people under criminal suspicion is a specialist area of a law which requires unique skills.

Hickman & Rose provide expert legal representation to children and young people under actual or potential police investigation. The firm works across the full range of criminal offences and its lawyers are especially experienced in the following areas.

Sexual allegations against children

Receiving the call that their son or daughter has been accused of a sexual offence is a moment every parent dreads. Unfortunately, this is happening increasingly often. There have, over recent years, been numerous media reports of a significant increase in the number of sexual offence allegations made against children.

These claims – which may be of rape, sexual assault, or indecent exposure – are often made in the context of existing relationships. They may also involve excessive use of alcohol and/or drugs.

Effectively defending the legal rights of a young person caught up in a sexual allegation often involves providing specialist advice as soon as possible after the allegation comes to light.

Moving swiftly to obtain as much information about the allegation as possible can prove crucial in developing an effective defence strategy. Knowing the contours of a criminal investigation can help the defence team secure potentially crucial defence evidence; to attend – and strategise for – meetings with the police and other stakeholders; and to identify experts necessary for challenging prosecution evidence.

As with other criminal defence cases, the key to successfully resolving a sexual allegation against a child can often be to engage with the police to show how it is not in the interests of justice for the investigation to continue.

Non-academic misconduct at school

Non-academic misconduct is misbehaviour at school which is unrelated to someone’s studies. It can include allegations of bullying, violence, sexual misconduct and harassment and sharing inappropriate images.

While allegations of non-academic misconduct will usually, in the first instance, be investigated by the school or college in question, the fact that many such allegations can also constitute a criminal offence mean the police may also be involved.

Hickman & Rose specialise in representing children caught up in allegations of non-academic misconduct when these matters interact with the criminal law.

Our expert lawyers understand the importance of adopting a strategic approach to an allegation as early as possible. This remains true no matter how outlandish, ‘out of character’ or ‘minor’ an allegation may at first appear to be.

Partner, Peter Csemiczky has written a blog on the basic steps that any parent should consider when their child is accused of non-academic / sexual misconduct in school.

Drugs offences and young people

It is a sad fact that illegal drugs are often available in spaces once considered safe for children. Whether it be a school, youth club, festival or nightclub, a young person’s exposure to illegal drugs is an everyday reality.

Added to this, a young person’s natural desire to experiment and test boundaries, coupled with their increased vulnerability to peer pressure (and, in some cases, coercion and exploitation) means they can easily be caught up in drug-related criminal allegations.

Drugs offences can range in seriousness from simple possession, supply, importation to production. The law around each of these offences can be technical and complicated. Receiving early legal advice is key as there may be important issues to consider.

Important issues may include whether or not it is appropriate to provide a password for a phone download and what are the repercussions of each option; whether the young person has been the victim of modern-day slavery; and, if so, what immediate referrals need to be made.

Phone / digital offences

Like it or not, much of modern childhood is lived online. The advent of the smartphone era means children can now easily access, send and receive digital material in a way that would have been unthinkable just a generation ago.

It is incredibly easy for children to break the law in the way they use their digital devices. Many may not appreciate that what they are doing is even illegal.

Over recent years there has been a surge in the number of children being investigated by the police for offences under section 1 Protection of Children Act (PCA) 1978 commonly referred to as ‘sexting’.

This law makes it an offence for a person to make, distribute, possess or show any sexual imagery of anyone aged under 18 years, even with the consent of the young person. It is not a defence that the person who made, possessed, distributed or showed the sexual imagery was themselves under 18 years.

The upshot of this law is that it is illegal for two young people, who may be aged 17 (and in a stable and happy sexual relationship) to consensually send each other nude photos of each other.

Police often receive intelligence about ‘sexting’ from a teacher or a parent who becomes aware of messages being passed around a school or college. When this happens, young people may become implicated in the alleged offending. There may be an internal school disciplinary proceeding; and also, potentially, a criminal investigation.

Hickman & Rose offer immediate, specialist advice in these situations including how to best navigate engaging with the police.

Anonymity for children accused of crime

Section 49 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 prohibits the media from naming (or otherwise identifying) a defendant aged under 18 years at the time they appear in the youth court, magistrates’ court or on appeal from the youth court.

This restriction, however, can be lifted in certain circumstances by the court for example, upon conviction.

The fact that a child defendant cannot be publicly identified does not, however, mean that they will suffer no reputational harm.

While there is little anyone can do to stop children gossiping at school (or their parents at the school gates) there are steps one can take to ensure that a criminal investigation remains as discreet as possible.

Hickman & Rose’s solicitors have achieved significant success maintaining client privacy by engaging with the police in a constructive but forceful way as early as possible in an investigation.

How our expert Children and the Criminal Law solicitors can help

Hickman & Rose specialise in representing young people accused of crime and have acted successfully in some of the most sensitive of these matters of recent years.

As well as being experts in the criminal law as it relates to children, our solicitors understand the special care required to guide a young person (and their adult carers / parents) through what is very likely to be the most worrying period of their lives.

Our lawyers work with specialist child and adolescent professionals such as psychiatrists, psychologists, intermediaries and speech and language professionals to ensure that they can accommodate the complex needs of young clients