So, you’ve received the dreaded phone call from police telling you that your child has been arrested. What do you do?
First of all, don’t panic! At this stage, the police are only investigating an allegation of a criminal offence & they generally have 24 hours to do so. They can make an arrest if they have ‘reasonable grounds’ to suspect that a crime has been committed, most commonly a statement from a witness, CCTV or forensic evidence.
It’s important to remember that your child has rights whilst in custody including the right to let a person of his choosing know that he has been arrested, hence the reason you received a call.
But, crucially he also has the right to free and independent legal advice. He can be represented by any solicitor of his choosing and I would always suggest that it should be someone who is local and has an awareness of community issues.
If you can’t get there, you should ask another responsible adult to go instead. During the interview itself an ‘appropriate adult’ (possibly you) who is able to help your child understand the proceedings, should be present with the solicitor.
You should attend the police station as soon as possible and ensure that your child has proper face-to-face legal advice before he answers any questions in interview.
The reason I say this is because, even if your child insists that he has done nothing wrong and wishes to explain that to the police, he could inadvertently make a comment which suggests otherwise or, if there are other people involved, could lead to a charge under ‘joint enterprise’. This is where a person is present at a crime and is deemed to have encouraged or assisted in the commission of the offence. Obviously being able to explain to police why you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time can be tricky for a child under emotional stress.
After the interview, the police may either decide to charge him with the offence and send him to court, bail him to come back on another date in order to give them time to continue their investigation, or drop the case and take no further action.
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