~~~~Arrest The Police will come to your house and arrest your child/teenager or he might be picked up somewhere else, or he/she is already in their custody. So if you get a call at 1am or 4 am and an Officer tells you he has your Kid at the Station and needs you to come in for Identification, bring some kind of ID for the Child with you. By now the Officer has given your child time to speak to a Duty-Lawyer, the Officer will explain to you what happened. If they caught your child in the Act of commiting a crime, or suspecting him/her of a crime, the Officer will explain what happened and then you can speak to your child alone. Maybe your child spent the night at a friends house, maybe he/she left the house after you where asleep, maybe it happened during the day or even just before their curfew. Talk to your child, ask your child what happened. Do not scream or yell or even tell him/her "your not my child, mine could never do such a thing". To late, it`s done! After you know the how and where, all you need to know is the why. The Officer will want to take a statement, ask questions of your child, the child can refuse until he has his/her lawyer there, or a parent, or someone they trust. Top ~~~~Detained by Police Should they still refuse, they probably will not go home with you. Depending on what kind of Evidence the police have, or if someone laid charges (like assault) they will spend time in a cell until a Judge can hear the charges. He will either remand the child into Custody, have a Bail Hearing, or maybe release the child into your custody.Of course not without an Undertaking/Recognizance, with which the child has to abide. Top ~~~~Bail Hearing In a Bail Hearing the Court has already established, that releasing the Child with an Undertaking might not be enough. So unless a Parent or other Person signs a contract with the Court, where they promise to make sure the child appears on a specific court date, take on the responsibility of assuring the court that the child will follow ALL the rules as stated in a Recognizance like keeping curfew, staying away from certain people or places etc. Should the child not follow his/her rules you are obligated to notify the police or the court, should you willfully not do this you will lose the "Bail-money" and the child will return to custody. Top ~~~~Undertaking/Recognizance Should the child and parent co-operate with the Police Officer, give a statement and be truthful and honest with him, he will most likely, especially if this was a first offence, release the child into the parents custody after the child signed a Promise To Appear, and an Undertaking given to an Officer in Charge. Top ~~~~Breach of Undertaking/Recognizance Should the child refuse to comply with the rules given by a Police Officer he will have to appear before a judge, where again he might have the option to be released into the parents custody. Read on. Top ~~~~Judicial Interim Release But now the Form of Release will either be Court Ordered, or a verbal Undertaking will take place, or a written Recognizance with a Dollar Amount attached and Sureties needed. Also attached will be strict conditions. On top he/she has now a new charge, a Breach. Top ~~~~Breach of Judicial Interim Release It is safe to say that this will place the Young Offender in custody to a facility for Young Offenders. Where he/she will remain until the original Court Date arrives. Top ~~~~Notice to Parent or other Person Should the Child live at home, parents have to be notified of Court Dates and Times. Usually the Police Officer will let you know. Top ~~~~First Court Appearance The child has to obtain a legal counsel or Lawyer, and chances are he/she has no income. Depending on the child's age and your financial situation, you might need to apply for Legal Aid. Top ~~~~Hire a Lawyer/Legal Aid
This Application procedure can take longer than the fast approaching Court Date. The Child will be asked to see "Duty Counsel" who is there in Court and ask for a new Court Date within the time frame given by Legal Aid. Top ~~~~Alternative Measures If this is your childs first offence, you should speak to the Lawyer to see if there is a possibility for your child to go through Alternative Measures. He will speak to the Crown and if they and the Police Officer are in agreement, your child will participate in a circle with the following people present. The victim, the offender, parents, Police Officer(s), Court Worker(s). If everyone can come to an agreement on the restitution, community work, or maybe a letter of apology from the offender to the victim; and the child complies with all his/her obligations,there does not have to be a court appearance. If the child remains out of the system for a set period of time (usually two years), the record will be expunged. However, if another charge is brought up before the conditions of the agreement are met, the offender will face both charges in court. A child may only go through Alternative Measures once. Top ~~~~Plea Date On Plea Date, as I call it, the charges are read and your child will be asked :" How do you plead?" Guilty or not guilty, should he/she plead guilty, then the Judge will Order a Pre-Disposition Report. They set a new date for Disposition or Sentencing. Undertakings or Recognizance are usually upheld. Means the child still has to follow those Rules. Top ~~~~Hearing Should the Plea be "Not Guilty" there will be a Date set for Trial, where all the witnesses, victims, offenders, Police Officers will be present. Sometimes it takes more than one Date for the Judge to hear all the testimony. Trial by Judge or Jury can come in play to. At the end of the Trial the Judge or Jury will find the child either guilty or not. If he is found not guilty, he will go home. Top ~~~~Guilty If found guilty, he could be remanded into custody pending appeal. If you want to appeal a courts decision, you have a specific time to do so, also Legal Aid will not cover the full cost of this appeal. After a find of guilty, sentencing will be at a later date.So if the Judge upholds the Undertaking or Recognizance you may be able to take him/her home until the sentencing date. Top ~~~~Pre-Disposition Report A Pre Disposition Report is necessary because the Judge does not know the Offender. The Offender, the Parents, the School, Social Worker, Therapist etc. could be interviewed by a Probation -or Parole Officer. He compiles all the information and gives an in-depth account of the child in his Report. Top ~~~~Sentencing The Judge may hear some Character Witnesses, Family members, your childs Lawyer, the Crown, possibly from the young offender himself, before he will pass Sentence. Top ~~~~Disposition Order The Judge will pass sentence, make a Disposition Order where all points are laid out. The child could be discharged absolutely, pay a fine, perform community service hours, terms of open/closed custody, placed on probation, be detained for Treatment,make restitution etc. Top ~~~~Probation Order Even after a term of custody, there will usually be a Probation Order put in place. The lenght varies according to offence, is this a first time Offender, or a repeat Offender. He/she has to report periodically to the Probation Officer who will make sure that the child obeys all terms, there could be many. From curfew, to who he can not be with, recommendet councelling, Drug or Alcohol Treatment, Assessments, Mental Health Assessment, attend School without failure, do well in School, obey House Rules,where to reside etc. Failure to comply with the Order will bring the child right back to court. On a Breach. Top ~~~~Probation Office/Probation Officer The moment the child leaves the Courtroom his/her next stop will be the Probation Office, where they will get an Appointment to see the Probation Officer, who will explain the Order in Detail to the child. Top ~~~~Breach of Probation Any Breach of Probation and the Probation Officer will do the necessary Paperwork, and the child will start all over again. Top
I made quite a few mistakes, when I started to have Young Offenders living in my home. They had their Undertaking and Rules to follow, but not everyone did that. Some made up their own rules. Not being on time, when a curfew was given, was one of them. Now I report this to the Probation Officer, or Police Officer. So they can face the concequence of their action. Because every action has a reaction, and every reaction is followed by a concequence. I tell them right off, I am not their JAILER, it is their responsibility to follow Untertaking or Probation Rules. Choices, it is all about choices, you make a choice - you live with it. Good Luck to all of you parents, hang in there! This is the new ACT that replaced the Youth Offender Act, the Youth Criminal Justice Act! HERE