Freshers, Freedom And Responsibility: Legal Issues Every University Student And Parent Should Understand

Young people who are senior school pupils will likely have experienced significant new freedoms around their 17^th and 18^thbirthdays. Obtaining a driving license and going out to bars and clubs has given them a taste of the freedom that awaits them at college or university. However, although going away from home for the first time is an exciting and refreshing experience for many young people, it also brings with it new pitfalls, risks and potential dangers that they may not have considered.

The purpose of this article is to outline some of the potential issues that young people going to college and university may experience when they leave home for the first time.

Use of alcohol and experimentation with recreational drugs

It is undoubtedly the case that Freshers' Week will be an exciting time. Meeting new roommates and young people from other backgrounds and cities is an exciting experience. Most colleges and universities will also organise events for freshers, and these may include the opportunity for drinking more alcohol than usual often and at cheaper prices. The opportunity for excessive drinking is all too evident. It is also sometimes the case that the lack of parental oversight can lead to experimentation with recreational drugs. Each situation can affect the judgment of the individual and it is perhaps no surprise that there is a clear link between youthful misjudgement and criminal conduct. For that reason, new students need to be aware of the connection between alcohol and drugs and contact with the criminal justice system.

There is an urban myth that excessive drinking, particularly in young people, is some form of excuse for bad behaviour. It is important to recognise that it is not the case. The criminal justice system does not distinguish between conduct by young people under the influence of alcohol or drugs., and people who are sober. In fact, intoxication can sometimes be an aggravating factor.

Although the police do take a slightly more tolerant view of the possession of recreational drugs than was the case several years ago, there can be serious consequences even for those in possession of recreational drugs who are not charged or prosecuted. Sharing drugs with friends can amount to ‘supplying’ drugs in law (a serious criminal offence) and a criminal prosecution usually follows.

Breach of the peace and disorder

It is often the case that people under the influence of alcohol, with clouded judgement, get involved in unusual behaviour such as damaging property, loud and over-exuberant behaviour, and sometimes even violent incidents. The responsibility of the police is clear. Where there is sufficient evidence of criminal conduct the police have a duty to investigate and will have little hesitation in arresting and charging an individual who has committed a crime such as vandalism, breach of the peace, or assault. Sometimes specific comments are made, in person, via messaging or over social media. For example, they could refer to the sexuality or race of another person. These actions, are often referred to as ‘hate crime’, are one of the priorities for the police. These cases are almost always prosecuted leading to a very stressful and difficult time for the individual accused of the crime.

Domestic and sexual allegations

Domestic allegations

Domestic and sexual case are a high priority for the police. Typical domestic cases may include abusive or coercive behaviour, stalking or assault. It is the policy of the police that all of these types of allegations will be taken seriously and properly investigated, and, where there is sufficient evidence, prosecuted. Young people embarking upon new relationships (even for a short period) need to firmly understand the importance of respecting their partner in all senses. The police will not hesitate to act in cases where one partner has been verbally abused or harassed. Domestic crimes are not limited to older couples or spouses, and includes young people in relationships. The length of the relationship is irrelevant. Given that many young people will embark upon new relationships in their first term at university, they are particularly vulnerable if they don’t understand and respect boundaries with their partners.

Domestic abuse has been carefully defined and includes behaviour that is threatening, intimidating or violent with the effect that one partner is made to feel dependent on the other, isolated from friends and family, controlled or monitored, deprived of freedom of action and/or humiliated or degraded. It can therefore easily be seen that domestic abuse does not necessarily include any form of violent behaviour, and indeed most prosecutions for domestic abuse do not include an overly physically violent act.

Sexual allegations

The law is particularly sophisticated when it comes to dealing with sexual allegations. It is not only serious allegations like rape which are prosecuted. There are many other (still very serious) allegations that can be made such as sexual assault, coercing a person into sexual activity, coercing a person to look at a sexual image, communicating indecently, sexual exposure and voyeurism. New intimate relationships require to be navigated very carefully. Consent to a sexual act between couples can be withdrawn at any time, and there is a clear link between technology (for instance mobile phones, laptops, iPads, social media and instant messaging) and the proliferation of sexual allegations which are often made by students. The consequences of such an allegation can be particularly serious. Not only will the accused person be facing police investigation, formal interview and the possibility (perhaps likelihood) of a criminal prosecution, but there is also significant stress and anxiety to consider, both for the accused person and the family.

Recent changes to the law of evidence have lowered the bar for a charge and prosecution in domestic and sexual cases, and evidence to corroborate the allegation by the complainer (victim) can come from friends or family who spoke to the complainer shortly after the event, or from instant messages or social media messages. The penalties for a conviction – particularly in relation to both domestic and sexual offences (but particularly in relation to sexual offences) – can often involve a prison sentence, along with registration on the Sex Offenders Register.

New students should be aware that if a domestic or sexual allegation is made against them, and it is brought to the attention of the university authorities, then they may well be banned from the campus or from attending classes. In some circumstances they may be suspended from the university for the duration of the case, which, in serious sexual cases, could take one or two years.

University discipline

It is not widely understood by students that when they join a university they are entering into a contract with the university. The contract obliges each student to act according to university rules and strict disciplinary measures can be enforced if the rules are broken. If a criminal allegation comes to the attention of the university, students can be prevented from attending at classes, from entering parts of the university campus (including the students’ union) or even the whole campus. There have been occasions where students have been required to take courses by video conference away from the campus. The universities will often take the view that their primary consideration is to protect the alleged victim from the accused person and sometimes that can even involve a suspension of studies until the case has been concluded. In serious cases it could take 18 months or two years for a case to conclude after a trial. There is therefore the possibility for studies to be interrupted with serious career implications and consequences for successfully obtaining a university degree.

Long-term consequences

Contact with the police and with the wider criminal justice system can have a devastating impact on the career or reputation of a young person.

Anybody charged with a criminal offence and facing prosecution is likely to be placed on bail. Bail conditions are likely to include a condition not to approach, contact or communicate with the alleged victim, and that can often mean that the individual is banned from entering certain parts of the campus by the court.

A person convicted of a criminal offence is likely to have a criminal record. The record could well have serious career implications and may affect a choice of career. For instance, a student convicted of a sexual offence may well find that they are forbidden to enter a medical, legal and teaching professions. Increasingly, professional occupations require disclosure checks, and these checks may disclose not just a criminal record but also the fact that a person has been arrested and charged.

Criminal convictions for sexual offences are likely to also result in registration on the Sex Offenders Register. It is also likely that travel to foreign countries may be restricted with any criminal record but, specifically, the risk is higher with that kind of criminal conviction.

Advice

So what advice can be given to young people going to college or university?

Leaving home and going to college or university can be liberating and exciting. In most cases the experience can be the most formative of your life. Students may well make lifelong friends and enjoy a terrific experience whilst obtaining a valuable qualification. In some cases, however, missteps and misjudgements, often caused affected by alcohol or recreational drugs can have far reaching consequences. It is obviously critically important to remember what is at stake and to act responsibly and respectfully to other students, including those you may be in a relationship with.

If you are arrested by the police, it is very important that you obtain the advice of a criminal defence solicitor to advise you. Criminal law is a specialist area of law. The police are likely to wish to interview you. It is not always be the best course of action to tell the police everything that happened without taking advice first. Any admission or confession made in a police interview almost always feature as key evidence in a criminal trial and it is therefore important to have legal advice beforehand.

Many students will be reluctant to advise their parents that they have been in trouble with the police. I would always advise that a person facing a police investigation or prosecution discloses that to their family or to a close friend so that they have support and guidance in dealing with what will always be a very serious matter.

In summary, if you are contacted by the police, always get a lawyer to advise you, and tell an adult who can support you. The decisions you will have to make may have far reaching consequences for your future career prospects. The primary purpose of going to college or university is to get qualification and improve career prospects. Don’t lose sight of that.