Safeguarding children and young people in the youth justice system

Many social workers have deep expertise in child protection. Yet when safeguarding meets the criminal justice system, the picture becomes far less clear. 

For too long, exploited children have been treated as suspects rather than victims. And for too long, the harm caused by police contact itself has been overlooked. 

At the Youth Justice Legal Centre (YJLC), we spend every day working alongside practitioners who are fighting for better outcomes for children in the criminal legal system. As the hub of excellence for youth justice law and practice in England and Wales, our role is to share knowledge, convene expertise, and spark innovation.

A turning point – Child Q

The gap in knowledge of safeguarding protocols became painfully apparent in the Hackney Local Safeguarding Review into the strip search of Child Q by police officers at her school. School staff had called in the police because they believed they could smell cannabis. What followed was a deeply intrusive strip search of a Black teenage girl, while she was menstruating, by three officers she had never met. School staff did not intervene. No cannabis was found.  

The findings of the review were critical: 

School staff deferred to the authority of the police on their arrival at school. They should have been more challenging to the police, seeking clarity about the actions they intended to take. All practitioners need to be mindful of their duties to uphold the best interests of children. 

The review also found that:

Across many of the professionals involved that day, there was an absence of a safeguarding first approach to their practice. 

In response YJLC developed a Safeguarding First Guide for Children in the Criminal Legal System. 

Embedding the Child First approach  

The Child First approach emphasises the need to recognise children as children, treat them fairly and help them to build on their strengths so they can make a constructive contribution to society. It aims to prevent offending and create safer communities with fewer victims.

The Youth Justice Board has made this approach the ‘guiding principle for the youth justice system’. This means that all youth justice services must: 

1. Treat child defendants as children.
2. Build pro-social identity.
3. Collaborate with children.
4. Divert children from stigma. 

The Child First approach is gaining traction. The Crown Prosecution Service and the Metropolitan Police have adopted it with the National Police Chiefs Council committing to Child Centred Policing.

Safeguarding child suspects

It’s important that all children who need help and protection deserve high quality and effective support. The Working Together Statutory Guidance is clear: 

Children who are encountered as offenders, or alleged offenders, are entitled to the same safeguards and protection as any other child and due regard should be given to their safety and welfare at all times.

These duties are owed by the police, the courts, youth justice services. The guidance also recognises: 

These children are often victims of harm, for example, children who are apprehended in possession of Class A drugs may be victims of exploitation through county lines drug dealing. Consideration should be given to the potential impact an arrest or seizure of items may have upon a child’s immediate and ongoing safety and whether there is actual or likely significant harm. This might include self-harm, threats, or violence from criminal gangs to the child and their family following loss of money and/or drugs and a ‘debt’ can be created which is also known as debt bondage.

Yet despite this clarity, the Jay Review into Exploitation of Children 2024 highlighted that too many exploited children experience a criminal justice response, rather than child protection response. The statutory guidance is clear:

All children, including those who may be causing harm to others, should receive a safeguarding response first.

Transitioning to adulthood

There are a number of barriers to effective safeguarding as young people transition to adulthood.

Research in Practice’s work on Transitional Safeguarding is crucial. Many children, particularly those investigated for sexual allegations, wait years before an allegation is brought before the court. By the time it finally does they are legally adults being challenged for behaviour that happened when they were children. This can lead to unfair outcomes, which we explore in our Turning 18 Legal Guide.