Starting point for juvenile court assistance
Anyone who commits a criminal offense must expect criminal proceedings to be initiated against them. In contrast to adults, young people aged 14 to 17, and in certain cases up to 20, are subject to special juvenile criminal law. The focus here is not just on the offense, but on the young person as a whole.
The situation after a crime often seems hopeless for the young person and their parents. Mutual trust is severely strained, many react helplessly and insecurely, and tensions between parents and children grow. Questions arise such as: What happens next? Will there be a court hearing? Who will find out? Do you have a criminal record?
This is where juvenile court assistance comes in.
Tasks of juvenile court assistance
Youth court assistance is youth assistance in criminal proceedings and therefore has a neutral position in the proceedings. It is therefore not an advocate for the accused and may not provide any legal information in criminal proceedings. Rather, its task is to mediate between the accused young person and the juvenile court.
Juvenile court assistance is informed by the public prosecutor's office at the latest when preliminary or criminal proceedings are initiated. The social workers of the juvenile court assistance service then contact the person concerned and, if applicable, their parents and inform them about the further course of the proceedings and their possible consequences. As a rule, after a personal meeting, they report to the juvenile court and the public prosecutor's office on the development and situation of the young person, and later attend the hearing if necessary, where they make a statement and propose a juvenile court measure that appears sensible and appropriate from a socio-educational point of view.
The measures taken by the juvenile court, e.g. the performance of work in charitable institutions, the payment of a sum of money to such an institution, participation in police traffic instruction or a social training course or the use of a court-appointed support worker, are also accompanied by the juvenile court assistance, as it initiates the conditions and instructions issued by the court and informs the court of their completion, but also of any violations.
In addition to these conditions and instructions, the juvenile court can also impose juvenile detention (up to four weeks) or, in special cases, a juvenile sentence (with or without probation, from six months) on the convicted young person to punish criminal offenses. Conversely, suitable proceedings can be settled through out-of-court victim-offender mediation.
If indicated, the social workers of the juvenile court assistance also initiate further educational assistance, which can range from pure educational counseling to outpatient and inpatient support to intensive socio-educational individual support.
