The author's inspiration for the choice of subject of this article was the Michael Sieff Foundation conference which took place in September 2001 on "The Needs of Offending Children". The focus of that conference was the forensic dichotomy that is represented by the Civil and Criminal Justice Systems when the State intervenes in the lives of children in respect of events which require a judicial decision. Article published in Amicus Curiae - Journal of the Society for Advanced Legal Studies. The Journal is produced by the Society for Advanced Legal Studies at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London.