Citizenship at key stage 3 (Year 7-9)
Unit 02: Crime
Section 5: What is criminal responsibility? What is the youth justice system? (2)
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Objectives |
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- that the youth justice system offers protection to young people, taking into account their age, immaturity and vulnerability
- to listen carefully to, question and evaluate evidence (NSE)
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Activities |
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Outcomes |
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Children: |
- Pupils consider and discuss what happens to a young person who is arrested. What are their rights? What evidence can be given against them? What safeguards are there to prevent miscarriages of justice? Explain the differences between a youth court and an adult court. Conduct a mock trial, showing the efforts made to present evidence even-handedly. This could be based on a current case reported in the national or local media. Pupils can also follow the case in the media.
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- understand the basic structure of the youth justice system
- understand the need to treat young offenders differently from adult offenders
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Points to note |
- The local police may have Schools Liaison Officers who could visit the school to talk about how young people are treated within the criminal justice system, and about local crime and its effects on young people.
- The role of Youth Offending Teams is important here.
- Information on how to organise mock trials can be found at www.citfou.org.uk
- The local magistrates association may provide support with this activity. The work could be followed up with a visit to the local magistrates court.
- Link with NSE: year 7 S&L6, year 8 S&L7, year 9 S&L5.
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This unit is divided into sections. Each section contains a sequence of
activities with related objectives and outcomes. You can view this unit by
moving through the sections or print/download the whole unit.
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