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Investigation

My child has been reported to the police: how a juvenile case works

Author
Rechtsanwältin Virginia Elisabeth von Burgsdorff
Published
Last updated
8 minute read
8 minute read

If your child is reported to the police as a juvenile, the public prosecution office conducts an investigation under the Jugendgerichtsgesetz, the Youth Courts Act (JGG), which carries the Jugendstrafrecht, the body of law that applies to young offenders. Within it, the Jugendstrafe, the custodial sentence for young offenders, is the last step and is tied to narrow conditions; educational measures and disciplinary measures take priority, and the statute expressly provides routes for ending a case without a judgment (§ 5, § 17 Abs. 2, § 45 JGG; Abs. is the German abbreviation for the subsection of a provision). What matters most in the first few days is therefore not limiting the damage by talking, but the opposite: your child does not have to comment on the matter, and as the person with parental responsibility you may choose a defence lawyer (§ 136 Abs. 1 Satz 2 StPO, § 67 JGG).

01

From what age can my child be prosecuted at all?

Anyone who is not yet 14 years old at the time of the act lacks criminal capacity (§ 19 StGB, the Strafgesetzbuch, the German Criminal Code). No criminal proceedings take place against children under 14. Measures by the youth welfare office or the family court, and civil law claims by the injured party, remain unaffected by this.

A juvenile is a person who at the time of the act is 14 but not yet 18 years old; a young adult is a person who is 18 but not yet 21 (§ 1 Abs. 2 JGG). What counts is the time of the act, not the day of the hearing.

There is also an examination that does not exist in the criminal law for adults: a juvenile is criminally responsible only if, at the time of the act, they were mature enough in their moral and mental development to appreciate the wrongfulness of the act and to act on that appreciation (§ 3 JGG). That maturity is not presumed, it is established.

02

What happens during the investigation?

The investigation is not directed at the act alone. Under § 43 Abs. 1 JGG the accused person's circumstances of life and family, their background and their previous conduct are also to be investigated as soon as possible. The persons with parental responsibility and the legal representatives are to be heard, as are the school or the training employer; the hearing there is omitted if it would expose the juvenile to unwanted disadvantages, in particular the loss of a training place or a job. The statute is framed here as a provision stating what should happen, not as a rigid duty.

As the person with parental responsibility you have rights of your own. § 67 JGG gives you the same powers to be heard and to put questions and applications as the accused person has, together with the right to choose a defence lawyer and to lodge appeals.

One point is easily overlooked: there is no duty to comment on the matter, and that applies to juveniles as it does to adults. Under § 136 Abs. 1 Satz 2 StPO (the Strafprozessordnung, the German Code of Criminal Procedure) the accused person is to be informed that they are free to comment on the accusation or to make no statement on the matter, and that they may consult a defence lawyer at any time, including before the interview. The advice that the child should simply tell everything and then it will be over sooner is not good advice.

03

What does the Jugendgerichtshilfe do, and is it on our side?

The Jugendgerichtshilfe, the youth court assistance service, is carried out by the youth welfare offices working together with the associations for youth welfare (§ 38 Abs. 1 JGG). It brings the educational, social and welfare aspects into the proceedings, examines the juvenile's personality and development as well as their family, social and financial circumstances, and reports to the court; a representative takes part in the Hauptverhandlung, the main hearing.

An important clarification follows from this: the Jugendgerichtshilfe is not your child's defence. Its report can influence the proceedings considerably; the meeting with it is not an incidental appointment.

In certain situations a defence lawyer must be appointed. § 68 JGG lists them, among them the case where the imposition of a Jugendstrafe, or the suspension of its imposition, is to be expected, and the case where there would be mandatory defence for an adult as well.

04

What consequences does the Jugendstrafrecht provide for?

The Jugendstrafrecht thinks in steps. Educational measures may be ordered on account of the offence; punishment by way of disciplinary measures or a Jugendstrafe follows where educational measures are not sufficient (§ 5 JGG). The aim is above all to counteract further offences (§ 2 Abs. 1 JGG).

Educational measures are directions and the order to make use of assistance with upbringing (§ 9 JGG). Directions are requirements and prohibitions governing how the juvenile lives; the statute names, among other things, requirements as to where they are to stay, taking up a training place or a job, work to be performed, a support worker, a social training course, a settlement with the injured party and a prohibition on contact (§ 10 Abs. 1 JGG).

Disciplinary measures (Zuchtmittel) come into consideration where a Jugendstrafe is not called for, but the juvenile must be brought to realise forcefully that they have to answer for the wrong they have committed (§ 13 Abs. 1 JGG). They are the formal warning, conditions and Jugendarrest, short custodial detention for young offenders (§ 13 Abs. 2 JGG). Conditions are, for example, making good the damage, an apology to the injured party, work to be performed, or a payment to a charitable institution (§ 15 Abs. 1 JGG). Jugendarrest is imposed as leisure time detention, short detention or continuous detention; continuous detention is at least one week and at most four weeks (§ 16 JGG). Disciplinary measures do not have the legal effects of a sentence (§ 13 Abs. 3 JGG).

05

When is a Jugendstrafe imposed, and how long does it last?

A Jugendstrafe is deprivation of liberty in an institution intended for its enforcement (§ 17 Abs. 1 JGG). It is imposed only where, on account of harmful tendencies that have become apparent in the offence, educational measures or disciplinary measures are not sufficient for the juvenile's upbringing, or where punishment is required on account of the gravity of the guilt (§ 17 Abs. 2 JGG).

The minimum term is six months and the maximum term five years; in the case of a serious offence for which the general criminal law provides a maximum sentence of more than ten years, it is ten years. The sentencing ranges of the general criminal law do not apply (§ 18 Abs. 1 JGG).

The court suspends a Jugendstrafe of not more than one year on probation where it is to be expected that the juvenile will take the conviction itself as a warning and will lead a law abiding life in future even without the effect of serving the sentence (§ 21 Abs. 1 JGG). In the case of a longer Jugendstrafe not exceeding two years it likewise suspends the sentence on the same conditions, unless enforcement is called for in view of the juvenile's development (§ 21 Abs. 2 JGG). That counter-exception appears in this form in the statute; it is what decides the case. If, after all investigative possibilities have been exhausted, it cannot be assessed with certainty whether harmful tendencies exist to the required extent, the judge may establish the guilt and postpone the decision on the imposition of a Jugendstrafe for a probationary period (§ 27 JGG).

06

Can the case end without a judgment?

Yes. The statute provides several routes for this. The public prosecutor may refrain from prosecution without the consent of the judge where the conditions of § 153 StPO are met (§ 45 Abs. 1 JGG). The prosecutor refrains from prosecution where an educational measure has already been carried out or set in motion and neither involvement of the judge nor a charge appears necessary; efforts to reach a settlement with the injured party count for this purpose (§ 45 Abs. 2 JGG). The prosecutor may suggest to the juvenile court judge a formal warning, directions or conditions where the accused person has confessed (§ 45 Abs. 3 JGG). Once a charge has been brought, the judge may discontinue the proceedings with the consent of the public prosecutor (§ 47 Abs. 1 und 2 JGG). In Germany these routes are commonly referred to as Diversion; the word does not appear in the statute. There is no entitlement to any of this.

07

Does the Jugendstrafrecht also apply to 18 to 20 year olds?

Not automatically. In the case of young adults the judge applies the Jugendstrafrecht where an overall assessment of the personality shows that at the time of the act the offender was still equivalent to a juvenile, or where the act is a typically youthful lapse (§ 105 Abs. 1 JGG). That is a decision on the individual case, not a rule. The maximum Jugendstrafe for young adults is ten years; in the case of murder it can be 15 years where the particular gravity of the guilt requires it (§ 105 Abs. 3 JGG).

08

Which court decides, and is the hearing public?

Offences by juveniles are decided by the juvenile courts: the juvenile court judge, the Jugendschöffengericht, which sits with a judge and Schöffen, the lay judges, and the Jugendkammer at the Landgericht (§ 33 Abs. 1 und 2 JGG). The juvenile court judge may not impose a Jugendstrafe of more than one year (§ 39 Abs. 2 JGG). The hearing is not public (§ 48 Abs. 1 JGG); where young adults or adults are charged alongside the juvenile, it is public (§ 48 Abs. 3 JGG).

Frequently asked questions

My child is only 13. Do they have to go to the police?

Anyone who was not yet 14 at the time of the act lacks criminal capacity (§ 19 StGB); no criminal proceedings take place. If an authority nevertheless makes contact, first clarify in what capacity that is happening. The youth welfare office and the family court work under different rules from those governing criminal prosecution.

No. Your child does not have to comment on the matter and may consult a defence lawyer at any time, including before the interview (§ 136 Abs. 1 Satz 2 StPO). Details about their identity are a separate question. As the person with parental responsibility, you may choose the defence lawyer (§ 67 JGG).

In the cases set out in § 68 JGG there is mandatory defence, among other things where the imposition of a Jugendstrafe, or the suspension of its imposition, is to be expected. Whether your case is one of them should be clarified early, not only at the Hauptverhandlung.

That follows § 32 BZRG, the Bundeszentralregistergesetz, the statute on the Federal Central Criminal Register, not the Youth Courts Act. A finding of guilt under § 27 JGG is not entered in the Führungszeugnis, as § 32 Abs. 2 Nr. 2 BZRG provides; for a Jugendstrafe, § 32 Abs. 2 Nr. 3 und 4 BZRG set out their own exceptions, each with its own conditions. Discontinuations under §§ 45, 47 JGG are not convictions in any event. Have everything beyond that examined separately, particularly where a training place or naturalisation is at stake.

This information is general in nature and does not replace advice on an individual case. It reflects the statutory texts as checked on 10 August 2026.

More on how we support juveniles, young adults and their parents through proceedings can be found on our page on juvenile criminal law.

If you would like to discuss your case, you can reach the office by telephone or by email.

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Provisions referred to

The provisions mentioned in this article, each with a link to the official German text.