Unlike young people aged 16 or under, current legislation means that 17-year-olds are treated as adults while held in police custody.
This means that either a parent or an “appropriate adult” is not routinely contacted to offer them support and advice, unless they are deemed to be “vulnerable”. They also have no right to have a parent or guardian present during police interview.
But the charity Just for Kids Law says the situation contradicts both international and domestic law, since the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) states that under-18s must be treated as children.
The charity has been granted a judicial review into the issue on the back of the case of a young person with no criminal record, who was detained at a police station for more than 12 hours without the assistance of an appropriate adult, or being able to speak to his mother.
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