When and how do the police get involved in the lives of children?

When Alma-Constance discussed the age of criminal responsibility starting at 10 years old in England and Wales with DPP director Max Hill QC (in our episode 2), Max talked about the police investigating when people commit crimes. Alma-Constance was curious to know more about the work the police do and how it affects children. Our guest for this episode - to tackle these questions -  was Dame Cressida Dick, who is the commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service which means she is head of the police force in London. The Met is one of the 45 police forces in the UK - the force, by officer numbers, is the largest in the United Kingdom by a significant margin, and one of the biggest in the world. Alma quizzes Cressida on what happens if a child is suspected of a crime, the role of police officers in schools, changes in crime levels since the pandemic and how girls can keep safe at school and elsewhere.Cressida tells her how, at 10, she was a shy but active child who enjoyed sports and the outdoors, was ‘not brilliant’ at school work, was untidy and ‘quite naughty’.  She puts her success down a love of the job and hard work as well as the support and confidence given to her by those around her growing up who gave her a sense she could achieve whatever she wanted to. She recounts the first arrest she ever made, in Soho in 1984, of a man attempting to break into a red telephone box with a screwdriver.   You can read more about the Metropolitan Police and the police and how the get involved in children's lives:https://www.met.police.uk/cy-GB/heddluoedd/metropolitan-police/areas/campaigns/2018/celebrating-100-years-of-women-policing-in-london/100-years-strong/cressida-dick/https://www.met.police.uk/notices/met/commissioner-statement-working-with-londons-communities-build-further-trust-confidence-police/https://www.police.uk/pu/support-services/support-children-young-people-crime/https://www.gov.uk/if-my-child-gets-in-trouble-with-policeAlso if you need to ask some legal questions and need guidance: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/family/children-and-young-people/child-abuse/police-involvement/child-abuse-police-involvement/Alma-Constance and Lucinda would love to hear from you! Tell us what you think of our episode, and if you've got any questions,  ideas about a topic or someone you'd like us to interview,  please  contact us through the website, kidslaw.info  or on social media  on Twitter @KidsLawInfo, Facebook and Instagram @KidsLawInfo You can also email us: [email protected] subscribe, rate, and share with your friends. See you in the next episode!Keep your questions coming in. Please subscribe, rate, and share the podcast with your friends. See you soon in the next episode!You can follow us @kidslawinfo on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram

Om Podcasten

This is a podcast about children and the laws that affect them as they grow up. Alma-Constance, our host, decided to start the podcast in 2021when she was 10 years old. Living in England, UK, she discovered that when she turned 10 she would have reached the age of criminal responsibility. This is one of the youngest ages of criminalising children in the developed world. That was a pretty shocking discovery for her especially as she realised that she and her peers knew nothing about what this meant in practice and how it can affected children and their families. With the help of Lucinda Acland, a lawyer, and supported by Next 100 Years, they set out to ask some questions of leading experts to help children make sense of it all. There are a lot of laws that affect #children as they grow up and they are confusing and complicated and can affect all aspects of their day-to-day life from #education to online protections or at home, if families break up. It is difficult to keep track and understand the laws and how they impact a child's life. Alma-Constance is determined to help #TeachKidsLaw at a much younger age to help them grow up into adults confident with their legal knowledge. Understanding how the law works and being able to understand complex concepts of #justice and #ruleoflaw will help anyone as they try to navigate their lives. You can email us: [email protected] or reach us on social media channels and our www.kidslaw.info website.