"If you do want to talk to me, I can tell the juvenile court judge or adult court judge and Probation Officer what you tell me."
"If you do want to talk to me, I can tell the juvenile court judge or adult court judge and Probation Officer what you tell me."
All kinds of people think they can talk their way out of an arrest. Unsavvy people might interpret that statement as saying their excuses and explanations will passed up to people who will listen sympathetically or at least could be convinced. They don't realize their statements can only cause them harm. I think that kind of misconception would be especially true for juveniles.
Of course the problem is you really don't know what the officer thinks. But you may be able to pick up on that if you are good at reading body language.
Please watch this if you haven't, it's very entertaining and absolutely true: "Don't Talk to the Police" https://youtu.be/d-7o9xYp7eE
You are under no obligation to attest to your innocence. It's not your responsibility to do so. Innocent until proven guilty and all that.
You cannot refuse to provide identification (or do a roadside sobriety test). But if there is no probable cause to pursue the matter further, there's only so much they can do without your testimony.
There's a lot of damage they can do with your testimony though.
Just because the officer tells them that they can tell the judge what they say doesn't at all imply that it could cause the child to get in more trouble.