Youth Court Update: Children in the Criminal Justice System

Speaker: Casey Jenkins
Chambers: Hodge Jones & Allen

Casey has worked across a full range of serious and high profile cases and has earned a noteworthy reputation for exceptional client care. She has a particular interest in representing vulnerable or marginalised people. She is a member of Hodge Jones & Allen’s specialist Youth Court Team and regularly acts on behalf of children and young adults.

Casey begins by outlining the rights of arrested juvenilles, as defined in national and international law; highlighting contemporary updates in legislation, guidance and processes. She describes an array of options available to the court when sentencing young people, as well as the practicalities and mechanics of the youth court and how it operates. She then goes on to give details of relevant case law, covering important topics, such as: modern slavery, child exploitation and referral orders.

Key Words/Topics:

S.37 Crime & Disorder Act 1998
Children & Young Persons Act 1993
Best interest principal
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), article 3 (1))
Arrested juvenile
Appropriate adult
Out of court disposals
Community resolution
Youth caution
Youth conditional caution
Triage
Youth Offending Service
Youth Justice Board
Strengthening Youth Diversion
New Child Gravity Matrix
Becoming an adult
Section 157 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022
Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (LASPO) 2012 (sections 91-102)
R v AAD and others
AFU [2023] EWCA Crim 23
ZA v R [2023] EWCA Crim 596
R v BSG [2023] EWCA Crim 1041
R v S [2021] EWCA Crim 960
s.45 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015
Child Criminal Exploitation
Referral Orders