Can My Child Be Held in Jail and For How Long?

Home » Blog » Can My Child Be Held in Jail and For How Long?

If your child has been arrested, we know it can be a terrifying time. It does matter if your child is arrested close to you or at his or her college. These are stressful times and you need local representatives that you can trust.

Did you know, in most instances, a person who is below the age of 17 is referred to as juvenile? Further, the crimes committed by a juvenile are called “delinquencies.” If your child is college age, chances are he or she is well over this age limit and may be facing more serious consequences as an adult. 

Anyone can be arrested by the police on the basis of information about a crime, received from victims, or witnesses, or other third parties. The police do not need concrete evidence to arrest someone. From there, your child may be detained in jail.

What can you do? Let us share three key steps you may take right now.

1. Find out where your child is. How did you learn your child was arrested? Did he or she contact you? Did a friend contact you? Was the University involved? The first step is finding out not only what happened during the arrest, but also where your child is. Is your child at a police station? Or being detained in jail? Or, is there some other factor that you need to know about.

2. Speak with a local criminal defense attorney. A local criminal defense attorney will have a network of individuals involved and handling criminal defense cases. Do you want someone on your side who knows the system that your child will now be facing. He or she will be able to give you a critical insight into a possible sentence, as well as possible outcomes for your child. This is one of the first steps you should take and should not be delayed.

3. Make contact with your child. Once you find out where your child is, determine if you can speak to him or her. If you can, arrange the meeting. Remind your child not to talk to anyone about the circumstances of the case and that you are securing a local lawyer to help him or her. Be sure to tell your child the name of the attorney that you hire.

If the police have arrested your child or someone you love, then do not wait. Get in touch with us to arrange a free case evaluation immediately, so we can start working on getting justice for your family.