A Difficult Balance: Challenges and Possibilities for Local Protocols to Reduce Unnecessary Criminalisation of Children in Care and Care Leavers

This article explores the challenges and possibilities of using local agreements to divert children in care and care leavers away from formal justice systems contact.

Authors

Katie Hunter, Claire Fitzpatrick, Jo Staines and Julie Shaw

Abstract

In 2018, the National Protocol on Reducing Unnecessary Criminalisation of Looked-after Children and Care Leavers was published in England. The protocol represented national recognition of the issue and called for local authorities to implement their own agreements. However, the protocol was given no statutory status, which immediately raised questions about its potential impact. Drawing on analysis of 36 local protocols from across England and Wales, this article explores the challenges and possibilities of using local agreements to divert children in care and care leavers away from formal justice systems contact.

Publication link

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/14732254231154153

Full reference

Hunter, K., Fitzpatrick, C., Staines, J., & Shaw, J. (2023). A Difficult Balance: Challenges and Possibilities for Local Protocols to Reduce Unnecessary Criminalisation of Children in Care and Care Leavers. Youth Justice, 0(0).

Linked Project

Nuffield Foundation-funded Disrupting the Routes between Care and Custody project (collaboration between Lancaster, Bristol and LJMU that completed in May 2022)