Court procedures

There are two main ways of being brought to court after having committed an offence:

• being held in police cells and produced for court on the next available day
• being released by the police and bailed to appear in court on a certain day. (If a young person does not attend court when they have been bailed to do so, it is also an offence with which they can be charged, so it is important to go to court when you are told to.)

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Key questions

• What type of court will I go to? 
• What should I do if I have to go to court?
• What happens if I plead guilty to an offence?
• What happens if I plead not guilty to an offence?