What to Do If Your Teen Child Commits a Crime

When a child comes into conflict with the law or the world around him, many questions arise in his head. There is a line between childish pranks and outright crime.

Unfortunately, no parent is safe from the fact that his child may commit an offence. What to do in this case and what does the law say?

What if the child says he has committed a crime?

First of all, if possible, check the truth of his words. The first decisions, in this case, can make a big difference.

If he stole something, you need to immediately return the stolen to the owners, apologising, if he committed a more serious crime, immediately hire a lawyer and contact the police.

When does a child have administrative responsibility?

The administrative responsibility of minors begins from the age of 16. However, if a person has not reached this age, his parents (one of them) or other legal representatives of minors may be held accountable.

Can parents participate in court?

Yes. When considering cases with the participation of children, the mandatory participation of his legal representatives is required. The child's parents are his legal representatives. The lawyer acts on the basis of a warrant. For this, a contract is concluded with a lawyer on behalf of the parent (one of them).

Who else can participate in the trial of a minor?

A teacher and a psychologist have the right to ask questions of a minor in relation to whom a case of an administrative offence is being conducted, and upon completion of giving explanations, get acquainted with the case and make written comments about the correctness and completeness of the entries made in it.

When can a case not be brought to court?

If during the consideration of an administrative offence case, it is established that a minor committed this offence for the first time and its correction can be achieved without applying an administrative penalty, the prosecutor and authorised state bodies (officials) have the right to terminate the case against the minor using educational measures.

Such a decision can be made only if the minor and his legal representative do not object to this. A copy of the decision to terminate the case with the application of these measures against the minor is sent to the Commission on the Rights of the Child.

What rights does a minor have at trial?

Minors are summoned to court through their parents (legal representatives);

When considering administrative cases against a minor, the prosecutor must be notified;

Giving explanations and testimonies of a minor who committed an administrative offence, minor witnesses and victims cannot continue without a break for more than one hour, and in total — more than two hours a day.

When interviewing minors, the participation of a teacher and a psychologist is mandatory;

What is a child's advocate entitled to?

A parent, who does not have the appropriate legal knowledge may not know all the intricacies of the case and therefore it is better to immediately hire a professional. Kells Lawyers will be there for you.

The legal representative is allowed to participate in the case by the decision of the investigator from the moment of the first interrogation of a minor as a suspect or accused.

He has the right to:

- know what the minor is suspected or accused of;

- be present when charges are brought, participate in the interrogation of a minor, as well as with the permission of the investigator, - in other investigative actions carried out with the participation of a minor suspect, the accused and his defence counsel;

- bring complaints about the actions and decisions of the investigator and the prosecutor;

- submit evidence;

- at the end of the investigation, get acquainted with all the materials of the case, write out any information from it and in any volume.

Conclusion

The most dangerous and "criminal" age in the youth category is, of course, the teenage years from 13 to 18 years old, when you can very easily do various stupid things just "for the company", because of the inability to think independently, because of increased youthful aggressiveness, first alcoholic experiences, lack of life experience, etc. Be there for your child, protect him and make sure that if something already happened once, doesn’t happen again. Good luck.