Exploring Children’s Understanding of the Legal Rights of Suspects in England and Wales
| Author | Vicky Kemp,Dawn Watkins |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/14732254211030597 |
| Published date | 01 December 2022 |
| Date | 01 December 2022 |
https://doi.org/10.1177/14732254211030597
Youth Justice
2022, Vol. 22(3) 320 –338
© The Author(s) 2021
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DOI: 10.1177/14732254211030597
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Exploring Children’s Understanding
of the Legal Rights of Suspects
in England and Wales
Vicky Kemp and Dawn Watkins
Abstract
While studies have explored adult suspects’ understanding of their legal rights, seldom are the experiences
of children and young people taken into account. In this article, we discuss findings arising out of research
interviews conducted with 61 children and young people; many of whom have experience of being
suspects. From listening to their points-of-view, we find that children and young people fundamentally lack
understanding of the rights of suspects, and especially the inalienable nature of those rights. We argue this
is not surprising when children are being dealt with in an adult-centred punitive system of justice, which is
contrary to international human rights standards.
Keywords
children and young people, children’s voices, rights respecting culture, suspects’ legal rights, understanding
Introduction
In this article, we discuss the findings of a study funded by the Legal Education Foundation,
exploring children’s understanding of their legal rights as suspects. The Police and
Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) 1984 (and the associated Codes of Practice) regulate
police powers in relation to the detention and questioning of suspects and, in this article,
we explore children’s understanding of two key legal rights: to free legal assistance and
the right to silence.1 With very little evidence from which to assess the effectiveness of
these legal safeguards, this study focuses on children’s understanding of these two rights,
mainly from the perspective of young suspects.
The study was conducted by two researchers whose backgrounds and theoretical stand-
points differ. They do, however, share a concern to bring the experiences of young sus-
pects ‘out of the shadows and into the light’ (Bevan, 2019: 316), so that their voices can
help to influence change. We begin by outlining international human rights standards that
are intended to provide legal protections for children when being dealt with by the police
Corresponding author:
Vicky Kemp, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK.
Email: vicky.kemp@nottingham.ac.uk
1030597YJJ0010.1177/14732254211030597Youth JusticeKemp and Watkins
research-article2021
Original Article
Kemp and Watkins 321
as a suspect, and a summary of the research literature which deals with children’s under-
standing of these legal rights. Next is set out the research design and approach to data
analyses, where we highlight the barriers faced by researchers seeking to access children,
and young suspects in particular. While we find that children fundamentally lack an
understanding of their legal rights as suspects, and especially the inalienable nature of
those rights, we also find non-compliance with international human rights standards
required for children in trouble with the law. In particular, instead of children being dealt
with separately from adults, an adult-centred approach is seen to be adopted when dealing
with all suspects within the secure environment of police custody and the police interview
(Bevan, 2019; Kemp and Hodgson, 2016; Panzavolta et al., 2016; Hazel et al., 2002).
Legal Safeguards for Young Suspects
It was following the wrongful conviction of three teenagers for the murder of Maxwell
Confait in 1972, and a subsequent review of criminal procedures (Fisher, 1977; Royal
Commission on Criminal Procedure, 1981) that PACE safeguards were implemented in
1986. Despite the safeguards having arisen due to concerns over the treatment and unfair
questioning of young suspects, the main concession as to age is the mandatory require-
ment for an appropriate adult to be involved. While free legal advice is available for all
suspects, there is no mandatory requirement for a child to have a lawyer, even if being
dealt with for a very serious offence. This means that from 10 to 17 years of age, children
are dealt with in the same way as adults, including when being read their legal rights,
despite obvious differences in emotional, mental and intellectual maturity (Bevan, 2019;
Panzavolta et al., 2016). This is contrary to international human rights standards to protect
children in the youth justice system, with the principal source being the United Nations
The UNCRC requires a system of justice for children that is separate from adults and
one in which the ‘best interests of the child’ is ‘a primary consideration’ in all actions
concerning children (Article 3(1)). Article 40 incorporates the fair trial protections pro-
vided by Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights and guarantees children
accused of a criminal offence the right to be ‘treated in a manner consistent with the pro-
motion of the child’s sense of dignity and worth’ and which ‘takes into account the child’s
age and the desirability of promoting the child’s reintegration and the child’s assuming a
constructive role in society’ (Article 40(1)). In addition, the Council of Europe (2010) has
issued Guidelines on ‘Child-Friendly Justice’ which guarantees the respect and effective
implementation of all children’s rights to the highest attainable level, taking into account
the child’s level of maturity and understanding of the circumstances of the case. While the
Guidelines are not legally binding, they have been incorporated into EU Directive on
Procedural Safeguards for Children who are Suspects or Accused Persons in Criminal
Proceedings (2016/800).2 More recently, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child
(2019) issued a new general comment (No. 24) intended to provide further explanation of
specific rights outlined in the UNCRC and to guide countries in implementing youth jus-
tice systems that promote and protect children’s rights.3
Despite the importance of human rights standards and legal safeguards for children when
detained and interviewed by the police, very few studies have examined the pre-charge
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