Henriques, Basil L. Q.

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Children\u27s Courts in England

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Journal of Criminal Law and CriminologyVolume 37 | Issue 4 Article 41947Children's Courts in EnglandBasil L. Q. HenriquesFollow this and additional works at: https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/jclcPart of the Criminal Law Commons, Criminology Commons, and the Criminology and CriminalJustice CommonsThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by Northwestern University School of Law Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted forinclusion in Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology by an authorized editor of Northwestern University School of Law Scholarly Commons.Recommended CitationBasil L. Q. Henriques, Children's Courts in England, 37 J. Crim. L. & Criminology 295 (1946-1947)CHILDREN'S COURTS IN ENGLANDBasil L. Q. Henriques, J.P.The author is warden of a London Boys' Settlement, member ofBritain's National Association of Boys' Clubs Council, President of theEast London Children's Court and author of numerous articles on clubwork and juvenile delinquency.-EDITOr.Types of Cases and ProcedureThere are two types of cases which appear before the Juve-nile Courts in England: those of children or young persons whohave been accused of committing offenses, and those of chil-dren or young persons who are said to be beyond the controlof their parents or in need of care or protection. In this lattertype'the children themselves may be completely innocent, thevictims of parents who may have ill treated or neglected themor who have allowed them to live in circumstances which ex-pose them to moral danger; or else they (especially girls) maybe in moral danger through their own wilful behavior.Whether the case be one of delinquency or of care or pro-tection or of beyond-control, it has to be proved, beyond anydoubt, in accordance with the evidence given. If there is theslightest doubt about the innocence of the defendant or if theevidence given is inadequate, the case must be dismissed, eventhough in the minds of the Bench it would be for the benefitof the defendant to be dealt with by the Court.The Juvenile Court is a Court of Law and though the wordsused are modified so as to be easily understood by children,the procedure in proving a case is exactly the same as that ofan adult Court. The Court should be held in some otherplace than the adult Court, but where this is not possible, itmay not be at the same time as the adult Court. England'slarge cities have their own specially built Courts or else theproceedings take place in the Town Hall or some suitable So-cial Center. The general public is not permitted to be present,but the press always has the right to be there, although whenreporting a case they are not allowed to mention the name ofthe defendant nor may the juvenile be described in such a waythat he can be identified.All the work of the Juvenile Courts is done by voluntaryJustices of the Peace. In London the Panel of Justices is chosenby Britain's Home Secretary and the Chairmen are appointedby him. Outside London the magistrates elect their own paneland their own chairman. The Bench consists of three magis-trates, one of whom must be a woman.The age of criminal responsibility is eight, and for indicta-ble offenses the Court deals with boys and girls between theages of eight and 17, those over 14 being termed "young per-sons." For care and protection or beyond-control cases the ageBASIL L. Q. HENRIQUESranges from birth to 17. All those who are over the age of 14and who are charged with indictable offenses have the right tobe tried by a jury, but it is seldom that they take advantageof this, and practically all the cases are tried in the JuvenileCourt.If there is a plea of not guilty, the evidence of the police,who may or may not be in uniform, and of the other witnesses,has to be given with exactly the same scrupulous compliancewith the laws of evidence as if it were given in the adult Court.As a rule the children and young persons are not defended byCounsel, although they have the right to be represented, andthe Court can aid them financially for this in cases of delin-quency, if they so desire.It is the duty of the Bench to help them in every way it canto examine and cross-examine the witnesses. After the casefor the prosecution has been heard, the defendant is told thathe may call any witnesses, and that, if he desires, he can tell hisown story to the Court, and that he can do this either by mak-ing a statement without taking the oath, when he cannot beasked questions, or else by taking the oath when the truth ofhis statements can be tested by cross-examination There isthe right to appeal to Quarter Sessions against the finding ofthe Court or to the King's Bench Division on a point of law,and the Bench may grant legal aid for this.After the case has been proved, the Court inquires from theEducation Officer what is known about the defendant; his pre-vious offenses, if any; his school record, and the Head Teach-er's report; and a bare outline of the family circumstances. Ifthe offense is of a trivial nature and what is known of the de-fendant is satisfactory, the case can be dismissed under theProbation of Offenders Act at the first hearing. But generallya remand, either on bail or in custody in a Remand Home, isasked for, during which a full report from the probation offi-cer is drawn up and, when considered desirable, a report fromthe psychiatrist is obtained. Only after the careful study ofthese reports and of any other information that can be ob-tained does the Court decide upon treatment.TreatmentBesides dismissing the case under the Probation of Offend-ers Act, the Court has power to fine the defendant, and whenthe parents are considered to be to blame, it may order theparents to pay the fine. It can also bind the parents over togive surety for his good behavior for a period not exceedingthree years.Where the children are innocent and the home is thoroughlybad, the Court has power to commit the child to the care ofCHILDREN'S COURTSthe Local Authority or any other fit person who will board himout with foster parents until the age of 18. Parents alwayshave the right to summon the Local Authority for a revocationof the order, should the home circumstances improve.The most common practice is to bind the defendant over fora period not exceeding three years and, with the consent of thedefendant, to place him under the supervision of a ProbationOfficer. It is the duty of the Court to have conferences withthe Probation Officer during the period of supervision, so as tolearn whether the boy or girl is responding to this treatment.Probation requires a great deal of intensive individual workon the part of the Probation Officers, and it is considered thatthey cannot take on satisfactorily a case load of more than 40to 50 children. Conditions may be inserted in the ProbationOrder, the most important of which is as to where the childshall reside. In this way arrangements can be made for himto be boarded out in a foster home or in a hostel, the HomeOffice contributing towards his maintenance there.If probation fails or if the character of the child or youngperson is such that on the first appearance it seems desirableto give him a long period of residential training, the Court maycommit a child or young person to an Approved School for aperiod of three years or if under 12 until the age of 15. Theactual amount of time spent in an Approved School dependsupon the- School Managers and the Home Office, who may li-cense him before the expiration of the full period. He is al-ways under supervision for at least a year after leaving school,and the license may be revoked at any time during this period.On the whole the percentage of success from ApprovedSchools has been high. They are maintained partly by theHome Office and partly by the Local Authorities, and they arerun by a voluntary committee of managers who are responsi-ble for the good tone of the school, which is under constantinspection by the Home Office. There are a very large num-ber of schools: they vary in character, ranging in size from 20to 150 pupils. Every effort is made to find the type of schoolbest suited for the particular child or young person. A greatdeal of freedom exists in the schools, which today bear littleresemblance to the old Reformatory Schools. If a young per-son over 16 absconds or if, when he appears before the Court,his history shows that he has criminal tendencies, he may be.sent to Quarter Sessions with a recommendation for committalto Borstal for a period not exceeding three years. -The Court has power to order corporal punishment for thosewho have committed indictable offenses under the age of 14.This form of treatment, however, is practically never used, forit has been proved not to be satisfactory, in so far as the in-BASIL L. Q. HENRIQUESfliction of the punishment is bound to take place so long afterthe commitment of the offense.The child can be committed to the Remand Home for 28days as a place of punishment. As there is no supervision afterleaving the Remand Home this, too, has notbeen found to besatisfactory. A young person may be sent to prison for threemonths - a course seldom adopted.Effects of WarIt is true that during the first two years of World War IIthere was a very large increase in juvenile delinquency, butconsidering the war conditions of the past six years the presentfigures give no cause for alarm whatever. The Courts are to-day faced with serious problems which have arisen out of thewar, the most important of which is the effect of the interrupt-ed education due to evacuation. Many of the children wentbackwards and forwards to reception areas, being recalled homewhen there were no blitzes, and sent back again as soon as theblitzes re-started. Thus an enormous number of children arementally retarded and undisciplined.One of the greatest tragedies is that many children who re-mained in the reception areas throughout the war have nowcome home to find themselves strangers to their own parents.Many who have been in happy billets crave to return to thecountry, whilst there are parents who, having got used to beingwithout their children, find them a nuisance now that theyhave come back to them. On the other hand the night life inthe public shelters has had a deleterious effect on those whoremained in the blitzed cities.The absence on service of the fathers, and especially of theelder brothers, has resulted in a great lack of discipline amongthe younger members of the famiIy, and this has been aggra-vated by the mothers being over-harassed through anxietyabout the absent members of her family, her tiredness in wait-ing long hours in queues in order to get provisions, and herworries about clothing and food rationing. All of this, togetherwith her constant fear of bombs, has made her less patient.The temptation to break into shops and warehouses in theblackout at a time when police supervision was at a minimumhas been very great. The opportunity for stealing and loot-ing from bombed and insecure premises has been enormous.Even today, when shop windows have not been properly re-paired and such a very great number of premises have beendamaged, it is extremely easy to break in and steal. The emo-tional upheaval in girls who have felt a sense of insecurity dueto the war has been especially noticeable.The problem of the broken home, due to the infidelity ofCHILDREN'S COURTSone or other parent, or to the estrangement between the par-ents, which has come about during the long absences fromhome, has, and will have a very marked effect upon the wholeproblem of delinquency, for it has always been the unhappychild from the broken home who has appeared in the Courts.The fearful shortage of houses means that parents find it diffi-cult to build up a satisfactory home life for their children. Theabsence of youth leaders on active service has meant that manyof the Youth Movements have had to curtail their activities,with the result that the leisure-time occupation of young peo-ple has not been satisfactorily dealt with and, having nothingbetter to do, they have committed offenses.Those who appear before the Juvenile Courts seem to fallroughly into three categories. They are there either becausethere are not sufficient outlets for the natural spirit of adven-ture among boys which they would normally find in the YouthOrganizations; or else because the home environment is sounsatisfactory as to make it extremely difficult for them togrow up healthy in either mind or body; or because they pre-sent psychopathic problems, which may or may not be due tothe war. With the improvement of housing, the expansion ofyouth work, and the provision of more child guidance clinics,the outlook for the future, though it will present for severalyears most difficult problems, is by no means unhopeful.

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Children\u27s Courts in England

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