A new edition of the Child Defendants in the Crown Court bench book has been published.

This is the sixth edition of the bench book, previously entitled Youth Defendants in the Crown Court and first published in March 2021. It aims to gather in one place everything relating to child defendants that a Crown Court judge or recorder needs to know.

This edition takes account of all relevant Court of Appeal and High Court authorities and changes to legislation and sentencing guidelines since the last edition, published in June 2025. The significant changes are highlighted in the Introduction.

This edition of the bench book is up to date as of September 2026.

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https://www.judiciary.uk/child-defendants-in-the-crown-court-sixth-edition/