Inner London Juvenile Courts

Before the 1840s children received the same treatment in the courts as adults. Changes began tentatively in 1847, when the Juvenile Offenders Act permitted children not over the age of 14 and charged with simple larceny, to be tried and sentenced by two lay justices of the peace or one stipendiary magistrate. This was an alternative to the usual full court hearing by indictment before a jury (see MSJ/CY series in the Middlesex Sessions records).

The Summary Jurisdiction Act 1879 enlarged the provisions of the 1847 Act. Offenders under the age of 16 could be tried summarily for nearly all indictable offences. This reduced the number of juveniles in prison and simplified the trial process. However, juveniles still had to mix with adult defendants and prisoners.

The 1908 Children Act at last established separate juvenile courts. Cases concerning persons under 16 were to be heard in a separate room or building and at separate times from adult cases. The Act authorised the establishment by Order-in-Council of separate juvenile courts for the Metropolitan Police District.

An Order-in-Council, 2 December 1909, established six juvenile courts to cover the then fourteen police court districts. These courts were: Bow Street, Clerkenwell, Tower Bridge, Westminster, Old Street, and Greenwich. These courts were presided over by a Metropolitan stipendiary magistrate sitting alone.

From 1920, under the Juvenile Courts (Metropolis) Act, the Metropolitan Magistrate was to be joined by two lay justices (one to be a woman) drawn from a panel nominated by the Home Secretary. From the mid-1930s the juvenile courts became largely the preserve of lay justices.

In the early 1930s all the Metropolitan juvenile courts were administered from Bow Street. A Chief Clerk was subsequently appointed to deal solely with juvenile courts and was given full-time staff. This centralised administration still continues.

The original six courts, after 1909, changed names and location several times and were gradually increased. These changes can be traced in the Post Office Directories in the History Library.

Under the Administration of Justice Act 1964 and the London Government Act 1963 a unified system of magistrates' courts for Inner London was established, of which the juvenile courts formed part. At least one juvenile court was established for each of the new London Boroughs.