Greenwich Juvenile Crimes Lawyer
In Connecticut, a juvenile arrest is the arrest of a person under 18 years of age. Any time a child is detained by authorities, the detention is considered an arrest. Anyone between the ages of 10 and 17 can be arrested as a juvenile in the state of Connecticut. Because juveniles are eligible to receive more protection from the state, a juvenile arrest differs from a traditional arrest in that there is no release of public information. Information pertaining to the arrest is not released to newspapers, and the courtrooms are closed to the public.
Arrest Warrants for Juveniles in Greenwich
There are two different ways that juveniles can be arrested in Greenwich. One kind of arrest is an on-scene arrest, in which a juvenile is arrested when there is probable cause that a crime was committed. The second method utilized to arrest a juvenile in Greenwich is through the arrest warrant application process.
The arrest warrant application process is handled by the special juvenile detective division in Greenwich, called the Special Victims Unit (SVU). The Greenwich Police Department’s SVU oversees juvenile crimes by gathering evidence to submit to the juvenile prosecutor for review, at which point the prosecutor determines whether there is probable cause to arrest a juvenile for a crime. At that point, a judge will consider a warrant application and a juvenile arrest warrant can be issued if the judge believes probable cause exists to arrest the juvenile in Greenwich.
How Can a Juvenile Be Arrested in Greenwich?
There are two ways for a juvenile to be arrested in Greenwich. When an individual is issued a juvenile summons and complaint ticket, the Greenwich police call the juvenile and one of their parents or guardians to the police station in order to issue a ticket requiring the juvenile to appear for their first court date or arraignment at Stamford Superior Court. These hearings take place on Tuesdays with the Stamford Superior Court – Juvenile Division, which is a separate court specifically for juveniles being prosecuted. The courtroom is sealed, the individual’s court records are sealed, and no information is publicly available.
The second way to be arrested as a juvenile is for the authorities to immediately detain and remand the juvenile to the custody of the Department of Corrections, where the individual is brought to the Bridgeport Juvenile Detention Center. Under these circumstances, individuals are presented for their arraignment the next business morning.
Can a Juvenile Be Detained After An Alleged Offense?
Most juvenile arrests do not require detention and the authorities often release the juvenile to their parents or guardians after the arrest. Juveniles are technically arrested and issued a bond on the promise to appear when a summons is issued. Generally, there is not a money bond or bail set for juveniles, and they are either detained or they are not detained.
Arresting Officers in Greenwich
In a Greenwich juvenile arrest, the arresting officer must alert the juvenile’s parent or guardian, and that parent or guardian must sign for the juvenile if they are going to be released from the custody of the Greenwich Police Department. Parents must be questioned before a juvenile can be interrogated, because a child is not capable of waiving their Constitutional rights to silence and to have an attorney. In order to access these privileges, a parent must be notified.