{"id":659273,"date":"2025-12-28T06:47:31","date_gmt":"2025-12-28T06:47:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/659273\/"},"modified":"2025-12-28T06:47:31","modified_gmt":"2025-12-28T06:47:31","slug":"i-wasnt-using-my-head-the-kids-appearing-in-court-days-before-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/659273\/","title":{"rendered":"‘I wasn\u2019t using my head’: The kids appearing in court days before Christmas"},"content":{"rendered":"

From a young rioter before the court for the first time to a heavily convicted 17-year-old, the Youth Court saw a whole host of children held accountable for their behaviour\"ManchesterManchester Magistrates’ Court(Image: PA)<\/p>\n

As Christmas Day looms, the wheels of justice continue to slowly turn. Located on Spinningfields, Manchester Magistrates\u2019 Court is the first stop for those accused of a crime.<\/p>\n

Only closing on a handful of days during the year, the copper building, with looming windows, grey metallic chairs and white-washed walls is common ground for some. For others, it is their first taste of justice.<\/p>\n

The air is often heavy with apprehension. Long cloaked ushers frequently rush between courtrooms, as clerks rattle through cases within minutes.<\/p>\n

Offenders young and old patiently wait outside. Some with their families. Some on their own. And some from the cold confines of a police station.<\/p>\n

On the opposite side of the building lies the Youth Court. Unlike other courts, it is not open to the public, with members of the bona fide press only allowed access on the trust they abide by strict reporting restrictions.<\/p>\n

(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The public area outside is filled with nervous-looking young girls and boys, who are to be dealt with for an array of crimes. Most have never set foot in a court before.<\/p>\n

Instead of the usual seat at court within a glass-walled dock, they can sit at the front, ahead of the lawyers and other professionals. They are asked for their details, including how old they are.<\/p>\n

They sit with their mum or dad, a support worker or a care worker, and are given the chance to ask questions in what is an unusual and uncomfortable environment. Some are given the chance to learn from their bad behaviour, to help them avoid going to prison.<\/p>\n

One of those dealt with was a 16-year-old boy, who had previously been sentenced after pleading guilty to robbery. As part of his sentence, he had to attend a number of appointments with his youth worker to work on himself.<\/p>\n

However, the lad had missed two appointments, putting him in breach of his order. \u201cIt\u2019s a real shame, for him to find himself so close to the end of the order and him being here for his first breach,\u201d said his solicitor.<\/p>\n

The boy\u2019s social worker said that he would often go \u2018missing\u2019 from where he is currently residing.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou realise all this is for you, to set you up for the future?\u201d Manchester JPs asked the boy. \u201cAll these people want to help you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking about the boy repeatedly going missing, David O\u2019Reilly said he didn\u2019t know anybody where he was living, and would \u2018go missing\u2019 to reunite with his mates. \u201cThe reason is he wants to go and see his friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s understandable, but you just have to go through this part. Don\u2019t go missing – it\u2019s not safe out there, it really isn\u2019t,\u201d the magistrate told him.<\/p>\n

He was resentenced, and handed an extra month of intensive support. \u201cWork with them, they are there to help you,\u201d they said. \u201cThank you,\u201d the boy responded.<\/p>\n

(Image: ABNM Photography)<\/p>\n

This was one of many cases we observed during one morning at the Youth court in the run up to Christmas<\/a>. None of the children can be identified in this story for legal reasons.<\/p>\n

One boy, just 15, was charged with possession of drugs and possession of two knives, including a Rambo-style knife. He was stopped by police on two separate occasions. Both times he had a weapon.<\/p>\n

Heather Crosswaite, defending, said a child protection plan was in place due to him being \u2018exploited\u2019 by older, more sophisticated criminals. \u201cHe had been seriously assaulted and stabbed in the past – he says he carries knives for his own protection,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe needs to be led down the right path, there are many professionals around him now. He\u2019s very polite, and he does engage.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Youth justice worker, who helps support youngsters in court, said he had a good relationship with his case worker. \u201cHe is well supported by those around him, and he understands the severity of the offences. He has shown a willingness,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you think you could put all this behind you?\u201d The magistrates asked him. \u201cYeah,\u201d he mumbled. They asked what his future looked like, and he said he wanted to either go into a career in football, or to study engineering at college.<\/p>\n

The case was adjourned for sentence, with the court seeking further reports about the boy and his life.<\/p>\n

As the morning rumbled on, one teenager who had shown limited engagement with the courts, was ultimately locked up for Christmas.<\/p>\n

The 17-year-old, who was already in custody, had admitted dangerous driving in a stolen car, though claimed he didn\u2019t know it was stolen at the time. He had eight previous convictions for 14 offences including for dangerous driving from earlier this year, and was on bail at the time of the most recent offences.<\/p>\n

His solicitor Kai Luckham urged upon the court that his client had changed. In a basis of plea document, the teen said: \u201cI recognise I could have killed or harmed others, or myself.\u201d He later added: \u201cI hope I am given the opportunity to try and learn and develop and be there for my son unlike my dad, who wasn\u2019t there for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

His youth justice worker said they were opposing any application for bail as they found he had \u2018struggled to distance himself from further offending\u2019. He had been offered \u2018immense support\u2019 she said, but nothing had changed in his behaviour.<\/p>\n

Asking for him to be remanded into custody, she said it was felt it would \u2018disrupt his pattern of behaviour\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe told me things have moved on. He knows how stupid he was. He is desperate to tell the court that this has been the episode that is going to mark the end of his childish, foolish and unreflective behaviour,\u201d Mr Luckham added.<\/p>\n

The JPs refused the bail application and remanded the 17-year-old in custody until his next hearing date in January. They cited that the criteria had been met due to the risk he posed to the public.<\/p>\n

As the case was being concluded, the teen stood up and stormed out, stating: \u201cGot to walk out this room mate before I f***ing smash it up.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The final boy before the court was a 15-year-old caught up in the riots of the summer of last year, following the attack on a number of children in Southport. A group had stormed a shop front on Mosley Street, in Manchester city centre, on August 3 last year.<\/p>\n

He was seen, amongst others, kicking a shop window, whilst wearing a balaclava. Footage of the incident was shown to the court. By his side, his mum watched his reaction to the video.<\/p>\n

Ms Crosswaite, representing the boy, said he \u2018bitterly regrets\u2019 getting involved, and said he got \u2018swept up\u2019 with his friends in the chaos. She said in terms of his supervision and support, that \u2018everything was going in the right direction\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is a good boy, he helps round the house,\u201d his mum said. \u201cThis has impacted us massively as a family. I never thought he was involved with anything like this. I don\u2019t know what happened, I don\u2019t know what came over him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked what he thought of his behaviour, the 15-year-old said: \u201cI think I was just young, I wasn\u2019t thinking straight. I wasn\u2019t using my head. I got swept away with it – I got involved with the wrong crowd.\u201d<\/p>\n

He was handed a referral order, and told they would help \u2018put him in the right direction\u2019.<\/p>\n

As the court broke for a lunch break, the rest of the courtrooms across the building still had busy waiting areas, with people eating meal deals, babies in prams sat with their families, and solicitors rushing into meetings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From a young rioter before the court for the first time to a heavily convicted 17-year-old, the Youth…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":659274,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8813],"tags":[748,30,393,4884,2465,16,15,185318],"class_list":{"0":"post-659273","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manchester","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-courts","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-manchester","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom","15":"tag-unmissable"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115795856643860892","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/659273","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=659273"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/659273\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/659274"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=659273"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=659273"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=659273"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}