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What is the Child Justice Act (CJA)?
Since 1 April 2010, children who committed crime are dealt with in terms of the Child Justice Act (CJA), instead of the normal criminal procedure which is used for adults. The aim of the CJA is to set up a child justice system specifically for children in conflict with the law.
Who classifies as a child?
According to the Child Justice Act (CJA), a child is someone who is under the age of 18 years.
What age categories of children can be arrested?
The CJA is specifically intended for children between the ages 10 and 18 years.
According to the CJA, a child under the age of 10 years cannot be arrested! This means that a child under 10 years does not have criminal capacity and can therefore not be charged or arrested for an offence. In such a case, the police official must refer the child to a Probation Officer at the Department of Social Development for social work interventions and/or referral to the Children’s Court.
The CJA states further that it can be presumed that a child older than 10 years but below the ages of 14 years lacks criminal capacity, unless the State Prosecutor proves that he/she has criminal capacity. Such a child can be arrested.
According to the CJA a child above 14, but under 18 years of age have criminal capacity and can be arrested.
What are the rights of children who are arrested?
Children who are arrested are not supposed to be treated in the same way as adults, and have certain rights guaranteed to them in terms of the Child Justice Act. These include:
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What can a parent/guardian do to help a child who has been arrested? Your involvement in the child's case at this stage can have a considerable impact on the long-term consequences for the child. You can do the following to help speed up the judicial process and, hopefully, keep the child out of prison:
What can I do if my child is being treated inappropriately during or after arrest, awaiting trial or after sentence?
If you are worried that a child is being held in prison for too long or treated inappropriately, you can report this to the Chairperson of the Child Justice Forum, which is supposed to monitor all young people who are in conflict with the law. The Child Justice Forum will investigate the case.
Contact:
Ms A Singh
Director: Legal Administration
Department of Justice and Constitutional Development
Regional Office: Western Cape
Mezzanine level, Plein Park Building, Plein Street
Private Bag X9171
Cape Town, 8000
Tel: 021-462 5471 (Extention 8323)
Fax: 0866 415508
Website: www.justice.gov.za
E-mail: ashikasingh@justice.gov.za
Where can I find out more about the Child Justice Act?
Click here to download:
1. The full Child Justice Act in pdf format.
2. The Child Justice Act Fact Sheet (Department of Justice)
3. The Child Justice Act Brochure (Department of Justice
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Government Body: | (Western Cape Government) |