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Children and the law | Committing a crime

Children under 10.

A child under 10 will not be charged with a criminal offence but they can face consequences for their actions.

The Law view children under 10 in a different way to youths, anyone under 18 and adults.

Possible outcomes for children that offend.

Curfew - A child can be banned by the police from being in a public place between the hours of 21:00 and 06:00 unless accompanied by and adult.
The curfew will normally last 90 days but can be shorter, if the child subsequently breaks the Curfew they may be given a safety order.

Safety Order - If a child has committed an offence or broken Curfew it is possible they will be placed under the supervision of a youth offending team, the youth offending teams objective is to educate and prevent the child from re-offending and are part of your local council.

They can also help families and children if they have to attend a police station, to find your local youth offending team visit-https://www.gov.uk/youth-offending-team

The Safety order can last as long as 12 months.

If a child still has a problem with the Law they can be taken into care.

Children over 10

If a child between 10 and 17 has committed a crime they will be treated separately to adult offenders.

If they are charged with an offence they will attend a youth court, which administers different sentencing to an adult court, if the offender is given a custodial sentence they will be sent to a secure centre.

If the offender is 18 and above they will be treated as an adult, except they will be sent to a prison for 18-25 year olds, if given a custodial sentence.

Children over 10
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