The Children and Young People’s Centre for Justice (CYCJ), in collaboration with the Scottish Child Law Centre, has produced a resource to support Scottish solicitors and practitioners with Good Practice Principles when representing care experienced children in police custody, to ensure their rights are upheld.
Children with care experience are more likely than their peers to experience police contact and criminalisation, despite no evidence that they commit greater offences than other children. They are less likely to receive support at the police station from family or a responsible adult which can affect both their experience of police custody and the criminal justice outcome.
In response, CYCJ and the Scottish Child Law Centre have published ‘Representing care experienced children & young people in police custody: A good practice guide’. This brings together practical advice, research and guidance, aimed at criminal solicitors, practitioners and children and young people. It is based on a paper from the Howard League for Penal Reform, the Youth Justice Legal Centre ((part of Just for Kids Law), and includes inputs from Youth Just Us and Scottish solicitors.
