Case studies
Lee’s story:
Lee, a 14 year old boy, was charged with a serious criminal offence. We had concerns about his mental health, so we ensured he received psychiatric assessments and treatment – something that has never been available to him before. He was diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. The prosecution was later dropped, however our involvement with Lee continued.
Despite the fact that prosecution was not pursued, his school did not want him back on the basis of the allegation. JfK not only ensured that he is now receiving the appropriate treatment for his mental health issues, but also secured a placement in a smaller, specialised, education facility.
Saaid's story
Saaid is a 13 year-old boy. He has been involved in the criminal justice system since he was 11 years-old. Saaid has special educational needs.
Saaid was in mainstream education his mother had to give up her full time job as a carer in order to meet Saaid's supervision requirements.
As a result of his special educational needs JfK applied for a psychiatric assessment of Saaid's ability to stand trial. Saaid was seen by a psychiatrist - the results of Saaid's IQ tests were surprising, Saaid did not appear to have a severe learning difficulty. The report concluded that Saaid might be on the autism spectrum but that the psychiatrist was not the appropriate clinician to diagnose or treat Saaid.
The report asked the Court to order a further psychiatric report to ensure a proper diagnosis and to provide Saaid with an appropriate course of treatment. The Court refused to order a pre-sentence psychiatric report because the legal advisor stated that she 'had to consider the public purse'. The Youth Offending Team have no authority or money to order this kind of report.
JfK therefore ensured further testing at low cost through our contacts. The diagnosis was one of Aspergers. As a consequence of the diagnosis, Saaid's CAMHS team, who originally denied that Saaid was autistic, have placed him in a special school. He is now receiving treatment and education on how to deal with his condition.
Sarah's Story
Sarah, a 15 year old girl, had never been in trouble with the police before. One evening, drunk with an acquaintance, they entered a pub asking to use the toilets. The bar staff did not want them to use the toilets and a physical fight ensued. Sarah’s only role was to step in and help her friend who was on the ground.
Sarah was arrested and charged with assault and affray. In the run up to the case the Local Authority wanted Sarah to sign an Acceptable Behaviour Contract which included a condition not to see her boyfriend. JfK intervened and we ensured that the Borough would not implement any contract until the conclusion of her case. Eventually the Crown Prosecution Service dropped the case against Sarah. The Borough therefore had no grounds to pursue the Contract.
Without our intervention Sarah and her mother would have agreed a contract that Sarah would have broken. They were not aware that there were no legitimate grounds for the contract.
David’s Story
David is a 12 year-old school boy. An older pupil obtained a master key to the school and offered it to David for £2. David bought the key and kept it secret. He carried the key on him at school and in the evenings he would take it home and store it in a box, having the key made him feel special.
David showed some boys at school the master key as he thought it would impress them. One of the boys wanted David to prove the key worked so told him to open an office door. Another boy took hold of the key and opened the door and went into the office. A teacher arrived checked the room and discovered a phone had been taken by one of the boys.
That evening David explained what happened to his mum and handed her the master key. The next day David’s mother returned to school with him to discuss the incident and return the key. David apologised to the teacher for the loss of her phone and the trouble he had caused. He was subsequently excluded for a few days.
A month later David’s mother was contacted and asked to attend the police station in relation to the incident. David’s DNA was taken and he was photographed. David explained what had happened to the police in a prepared statement.
David was not charged immediately the matter was sent to the CPS to review the case. A few days later the police officer dealing with the matter contacted David’s solicitor and informed them that David would not be charged with any offence.
Five weeks later a police officer who works in David’s school applied to the Court to have the case re-opened. David has since been re-arrested and charged with theft, and handling stolen goods and is going through the Court system.
Jamal’s story:
Jamal, a 15 year old boy, was an able student with no disciplinary record until an altercation outside of school premises with another student during summer holidays. As a result of this, he was permanently excluded.
Despite this being an isolated incident and that he was on course to sit ten GCSEs, his local education authority would only offer a place at a Pupil Referral Unit, where he could only have the opportunity to sit three GCSE’s, thus penalising his entire future as a result of an isolated one-off incident. We intervened on Jamal’s behalf, and managed to secure a place in a small specialist education unit where he can take at least seven GCSEs. Despite this unit being cheaper than a Pupil Referral Unit, the local education authority has refused to pay for his placement in the unit. JfK is considering legal action in an effort to secure this funding.