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Bradford Council aims to reduce criminalisation of children in care
15 January 2010
The council are working with Bradford police and the youth offending team (YOT) to set up a new 'Looked After Children and Offending Protocol' which aims to prevent children in care being stigmatised as criminals.
The guidelines recommend how staff in children’s homes should handle incidents such as criminal damage, theft and violence, recommending that staff should try to avoid involving the police and instead look for alternatives such as informal education and restorative justice.
A difference has already been seen with fewer reprimands, final warnings and convictions for young people living in children’s homes.
Michael Kelly, lead member for children and young people at Bradford Council, said: "We hope that these guidelines will help give these young people a better start in their adult lives without the stigma of a criminal record, if this can be avoided.
"At the same time we don't want to discourage staff from reporting incidents to the police - we just want to ensure a consistent approach to the way we all deal with incidents."