Sisters appear in children’s court on 37 charges of shoplifting

TWO sisters aged just 12 and 13 have appeared before the children’s court charged with 37 counts of theft, the Irish Mail on Sunday can reveal.

The sisters – who cannot be named – were arrested at their home last week and taken to a Garda station where they were interviewed by specialist gardaí in the company of an appropriate adult.

Gardaí then sought direction from the Director of Public Prosecutions and the girls were charged.

The younger sister was charged with 16 counts of shoplifting, while her 13-year-old sister was charged with 21 counts.

The pair appeared at a recent special sitting of the children’s court in Longford after being arrested at their home that morning. The girls were granted conditional bail. They were ordered to obey a strict curfew and were also ordered to stay out of a large number of retail outlets in Longford Town.

The Children’s Act 2001 defines the age of criminal responsibility as 12 years old, meaning no child under that age can be charged with an offence.

In all cases where a child is under 14 years old gardaí must obtain permission from the DPP before proceeding with a charge.

In most of these cases juvenile crimes are dealt with in the children’s court where trials are conducted by a judge without a jury and the maximum sentence on any one crime is 12 months.

As it deals solely with underage defendants, the Children’s Court must abide by the Children’s Act which states that detention should only be used as a last resort.

The hearings tend to be more informal than adult courts and access to the court is restricted to gardaí, lawyers, the children’s parents or guardians.

In the vast majority of cases children so young are entered into the Youth Diversion Scheme, which was formally established under the Children’s Act.