Every working day, the Children Court in Smithfield, in the heart of Dublin city centre, deals with youth justice matters within the Dublin area.
This court is unique as it’s the only dedicated courtroom in the country for criminal proceedings involving children under the age of 18 years.
Evelyn O’Rourke spent time at the court last week and had a two-day special in depth report on RTÉ's Today with Claire Byrne.
During the report, Evelyn explained the unique set up in the court, for example how the judges wear suits, and everyone is seated at the same level unlike the traditional court rooms.
Evelyn also spoke to President of the District Court Judge Paul Kelly - who sits in the Children Court three days a week - about his views on this important and unique part of the criminal justice system.
LISTEN: Special report on the Children Court: Part One | Part Two
I spent time last week at this court which gave me a fascinating insight into the work of this courtroom which is closed to the public.
The proceedings are held in camera which means that only the children, their parents or guardians or social workers and their legal teams are allowed into the court. Media are allowed in too, subject to reporting restrictions.
During my visit I saw many defendants under the age of 18 coming into court and heard their cases in action.
The Children Court has the power to deal with most criminal offences committed by children, but certain offences cannot be heard there and must be heard in the Central Criminal Court.
These offences include charges like murder, manslaughter and rape. The court is guided strongly by the Children Act of 2001, which has the philosophy that children should only be detained or put into custody by the State as "a last resort", so a sentencing judge has many options including community-based measures which must be explored before detention.
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During my time there, I saw cases involving young people who who had been involved in assaults and driving offences.
In some cases, the defendants had videoed the incidents on their phones. In another case, the details of the defendant’s identity had been posted online and the judge said that this was a very serious matter, and in contempt of the Children Act so needed to be investigated further.
It was a fascinating snapshot into the lives of a vulnerable cohort of young people with many of the defendants, unfortunately, caught up in challenging circumstances.
While they are under 18, they benefit from the Children Act which includes elements like anonymity, (a child may not be identified); they also must get a mandatory probation report too, for example.
In part two of my report, I spoke to Judge Paul Kelly and we discussed many issues relating to the Children Court - from his expert knowledge on the justice system for minors and how we treat them, to his views on the challenge of managing the impact of social media in the courts.
He is a passionate advocate for this court and takes pride in the unique atmosphere and approach they take there.
We also discussed the fact that many of the young people in court come from disadvantaged backgrounds and the positive impact that the right supports and services can have.
Last year's most recent figures on cases involving juvenile offenders across the country's district court network show that there were 4,165 juvenile crime orders made - 1,150 were for public order offences, over 1,000 for theft and robbery, 889 for road traffic offences, drugs 462 and 13 for sexual assaults, among other offences.
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