Youth Crime

Our team welcomes instruction from children and youth clients at all stages of the criminal justice system, including in quasi-criminal matters such as police applications for gang injunctions.

At the police station we will always advocate to avoid young people being detained in custody, and when detention is unavoidable, make every effort to minimise the length of time a young person spends in a custodial environment.

Our advocates regularly represent clients in the youth courts, which differs significantly to the system available to adult defendants. The main aim of the youth justice system is prevention of offending, and the courts must always consider the welfare of the child or youth defendant. There are crucial differences in the processes of those courts and in the sentencing options available in the event of a conviction. We always seek, where appropriate, to divert cases out of court and look at alternatives to prosecution.

We are committed to making sure our youth clients receive legal advice that is not just thorough but accessible to them at every stage of their case. We take an individualised approach to the young people that we represent. We proactively seek reports from experts including psychologists, psychiatrists and intermediaries to ensure that youth clients are able to fully participate in proceedings.  Commons’ crisis navigation service is available to all our youth clients and puts us in a unique position of having a dedicated client support worker to make referrals to support agencies, advocate for the young person and work with them throughout their criminal case and beyond.  This is reflected in the outcomes we achieve for our youth clients. 

If you are a young person or a parent/carer of a young person who has been accused of a criminal offence, contact Commons to discuss how we may be able to assist.