Is
there a risk that a child might falsely confess to a crime while talking to
police? Does the law reflect this risk? This article will discuss the rights of
children accused of crimes, and when what they say may be used as evidence
against them.
When
a school is broken into, a boy hanging around in the area is picked up by
police. When questioned, he confesses to the crime. But did he do it?
Confessions are often solid evidence, but may sometimes be unreliable. There
are a number of reasons why a suspect who is innocent may confess to a crime
that they didn’t commit. For example, if they think they may get a lighter
sentence, don’t understand the nature of the charges against them, or are
subject to undue pressure from authorities who believe they are guilty.
These
reasons are amplified when the criminal justice system is dealing with child
offenders, as a child may have less ability to fully understand the situation
in which they find themselves. There may be language barriers, and they may not
understand that their words may be used as evidence against them later. As
such, it is important that children entering the criminal justice system, and
the people around them, are aware of the rights they have, and safeguards that
are in place to prevent innocent children being convicted if they have falsely
confessed to a crime they did not commit.
The
Gambian juvenile criminal justice system has in place safeguards to prevent
unreliable confessions from being admitted as evidence. Section 208 of the
Children’s Act 2005 sets out specific rights in place to protect suspects in
the criminal process. Most important of these, in subsection b), is the right
to remain silent. This right protects freedom from pressure to give a
statement, and means that juveniles accused of crimes can ensure that they take
time to consult with parents or legal representation, to ensure they fully
understand what they might be confessing.
This
is supported by the right, in subsection d) of the same act, to the presence of
a parent or guardian during all questioning. This, in combination with the
right to silence, allows juveniles the proper time to consider the statements
they make to police, to prevent carelessly confessing to a crime which they do
not intend to do so. These rights are supported by duties on police in Section
210 of the same act, minimising questioning between police and a child except
with the presence of a parent/guardian.
The
Sections in the Children’s Act aim to keep procedure in the best interests of
the child, and to minimise the potential for self-incriminating evidence to be
unduly given. Evidence which is presented in contravention of these sections
will not be admissible under the Rules of the Children’s Court, providing an
additional safeguard for suspects and influencing police practice.
Parents
and children should still be aware of their rights when accused of crimes.
Although cooperating fully with the process may be in their best interests,
this freedom not to make a statement without legal representation, or at least
the presence of a parent/guardian can prevent false confessions being made.
Despite the other safeguards, exercise of this right is part of fair criminal
process in the Gambia.
Christopher
Gray
LLM
International Law
Visiting
Lecturer, Faculty of Law, UTG
Honorary
Lecturer, University of Bristol Law School
The
Gambia/United Kingdom
