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Crime and the law

Crime and the law Crime and the law

The law is there to protect you and keep you safe.

It's important to know what things are considered a crime and what is not. If you are worried about anything to do with crime and the law, such as gangs, going to court or if someone is trying to make you do something that is against the law, you can find out more information and advice here.

 
 
 
 
 

Your rights

Everyone has rights, they help you stay safe, be treated fairly and live the life you want to. Some rights are given to you at certain ages - for example being allowed to leave home or drive a car. Read more about Your rights

Gun and knife crime

Gun and knife crime can mean people carrying knives and guns, who may use them to threaten people. It can also mean robberies or other crimes, carried out by a person or people carrying a gun or knife – or pretending to do so. Gun and knife crime also includes stabbings or shootings where a person is injured or may even die.

Read more about Gun and knife crime

Gangs

A gang can be a group of mates who hang around together, but some gangs are involved in crime. If someone is trying to make you join a gang, and you don't want to, you should tell someone about it, or call ChildLine.

Read more about Gangs

Discrimination and equal opportunities

Treating someone unfairly because of who they are or what they believe in is called discrimination. Equal opportunities are about making sure this doesn’t happen, and that everyone is treated fairly. Read more about Discrimination and equal opportunities

Court

Going to court can be really scary whatever reason you are going for. It's important to know what to expect before you go as this can help you feel more comfortable and confident about it.

Read more about Court

Crime

A crime is doing something that is against the law. If someone involves you in a crime, or does something to you that is against the law, you can tell someone about it who can help you.

Read more about Crime

 
 
 
 
 

Ask Sam

My friend needs advice

My friend needs advice

I found out today that one of my best friends has been self harming on her arms and hips for the past month. Things at home have been pretty tough and her mum isn't that understanding. She has said that...

Read more
Write a letter to Ask Sam
 
 
 
 
 

Accessibility

We want to make sure everyone can access the information provided on this site

We've put together a few tips and help for you. Please send us a message if you can't find what you're looking for. Or you have a suggestion of something we could include.

Using the keyboard instead of the mouse.
As well as using the tab key to navigate through the screen, the ChildLine website has special access keys:

Alt+S = skip navigation
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Alt+0 = accessibility information.

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In Internet Explorer, go to View > Text size and select your desired text size setting (eg, larger, smaller).

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Changing your computer screen settings
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On an Apple Mac, you can use the Monitor & Sound Control Panel to change the resolution.

Having difficulty with your keyboard or mouse?
You can fine-tune your mouse and keyboard settings under Start > Settings > Control Panel > Accessibility in Windows 95/98/NT/2000 and XP.

Skipping navigation for talking browsers and screen readers
For speech browsers, you can press Alt and S followed by Enter to skip navigation on our pages.

The site is W3C level A compliant.

 

Help

Crime and the law

On this page you will find links to information about issues related to crime and the law.  If you would like to read more about an issue, click on the title to go through to the information page.  If you can't find the issue you want to find out about, you can try the site search or go back to the Explore page to look at other issues.