In this article, we’ll discuss how to address and handle the situation if your child gets caught with drugs in school.
Learning that your child was caught with drugs at school can be devastating. You are likely concerned for their safety, health, and the choices they have made to get to this point. Additionally, the legal repercussions of a child having drugs at school can be sever with the potential to impact their future.
Whether this is a first-time drug offence, or an ongoing issue taking the correct steps to protect and support your child during this difficult time is vital for their future happiness. Here are a number of steps that should be taken if your child is caught with drugs at school.
Understand the Situation
It can be incredibly stressful to be told that your child has been caught with drugs but it’s essential that you find out exactly what has happened so that you can make informed decisions in response.
Discovering what type of drug your child has been caught with can make a lot of difference when it comes to the legal repercussions. For example, although both are serious offences being caught with alcohol is a lot different to being found with cocaine.
Additionally, you should understand exactly what your child was doing with the drugs. Were they found in a locker or in their possession? Was the child using the substance or under the influence when found or were they distributing the drugs at school?
All of these things can have a massive impact of the legal consequences of your child’s actions so it’s important that you have a clear understanding of the situation.
Talk to Your Child
After speaking to the school and gaining a clear understanding of the situation it’s important to sit down with your child and calmly listen to their side of things. Although this matter can be upsetting and you may be angry, it’s important to discuss why they were caught with drugs at school with a clear head so that you can properly assess the potential impacts.
You should aim to find out what motivated your child to use drugs or sell them to others. This should give you a better idea of the severity of the situation and what sort of legal protection your child will need.
No matter the situation it’s important to react to this conversation in a constructive way. Becoming angry with your child is unlikely to help them in the recovery process, however they should understand just how serious possessing or using drugs at school is.
Contacting a Solicitor
Once you fully understand the entire situation your first task should be contacting a solicitor. Each school district has its own rules regarding drugs, and this will affect your child’s case. On top of this a solicitor can ensure you have the correct legal defence and will have a deep understanding of the laws surrounding drugs, property seizure, questioning, and searches in schools.
Speaking to a solicitor is the first legal step you should take after learning your child was caught with drugs, and this should be done as soon as possible so that steps can be taken to protect you child’s future.
The Schools Response
If your child is found in possession or using drugs at school, there will be both a legal repercussion and the schools’ disciplinary measures. For example, a school may choose to suspend or expel a pupil because of their involvement of drugs.
In the event that your child has received disciplinary measures like suspension from their school it’s important that you get a document stating exactly what your child was disciplined for and what the punishment will be.
This document can also be used to show exactly how long a child’s punishment will last and when/if the child can come back to school.
The legal consequences of being caught with drugs at school
Possessing drugs is a criminal offence and as such the police may become involved. For individuals over 18 you could receive between 2-7 years of imprisonment and a fine. However, the severity of this will depend on the class of drug found and what it was being used for.
It is also important to note that first time offenders often do not get as sever a sentence and are unlikely to be imprisoned.
For children between 10-17 years of age and Youth Caution will probably be given. Having a Youth Caution will stay on your child’s record and in the event that your child commits another offence they may be sentient to Youth Court.
A solicitor can help you to handle these legal matters, minimising the impact this event will have on your child’s life.
Please be advised that this article is for general informational purposes only and should not be used as a substitute for advice from a legal professional. Be sure to consult a drug offence solicitor if you need legal support after a child is caught with drugs at school. We are not liable for risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.
