Do parents have to be notified in situations like this?

The police must contact parents or guardians if they arrest or detain a young person. The parents must be told the charge.

If there is a court hearing, the Youth Court judge will certainly want to know if the parents are present. If they are not, the judge may set the hearing over to another date so that the parents can be notified and be present. Youth Court judges want to be sure that young people don't have to face complex court procedures alone. They also want families to be involved in seeking help for problems together.

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May 1997

More Criminal Code FAQs:

• General
• Joyriding
• Shoplifting

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