Youth courts offer best way to serve young offenders’ needs

Yet, under current legislation, we have an all-too-real example of delays in the justice process resulting in potentially lifelong consequences for some of the most vulnerable in society – children.

In law, if a child commits an offence but turns 18 before their first court appearance, they are treated by the justice system as an adult. This means they don’t go to the specialist youth court, with trained magistrates who are obliged to consider the welfare of the child, and who understand children’s behaviour and development; they don’t get the support of the multi-disciplinary youth offending teams (YOTs) and they don’t have access to the bespoke youth referral order – a community penalty designed to ensure rehabilitation and reparation that, once completed, is immediately a spent conviction. That is why I introduced a 10-minute-rule bill to parliament to say that persons charged with a criminal offence, having been aged under 18 at the time of the alleged offence, are subject to the jurisdiction of the youth court, and to youth sentencing provisions.