Exploring the criminalisation of children's home residents in England. Dr Julie Shaw University of Strathclyde

1. Exploring the criminalisation of children’s home
residents in England
Dr Julie Shaw-University of Strathclyde

2.  Inappropriate criminalisation
 Policy and practice guidance
 Joint protocols/ Restorative approaches
 Commitments and practice protocols to prevent
unnecessary criminalisation are ‘not working well
enough’ (Schofield et al, 2012, p. 5)

3.  Case study of English local authority area referred to as
‘Coalton’
 Semi-structured interviews: 32 professionals from care and
youth justice systems
 A focus group of residential care workers
 Themes: reasons why homes involve the police, and
opinions regarding the necessity and desirability of such
intervention.

4.  It’s not a routine response. It’s a considered response. If that
behaviour is prevalent…it’s all about trying to turn that youngster’s
behaviour to something more appropriate…If you’ve exhausted all
your care practices within the home, then yeah, it’s the right thing to
do. (Children’s Home Manager)
 Once it goes on and on and on and on, there has to be a cut-off point
where you’re showing the child the consequences of their actions and
if they lived out in the real world, when they get out of care, they can’t
carry on like that, and they will be arrested if they cause damage to
anybody else’s property. (Police Officer)
 She just pushed and pushed and pushed, and it was the last resort of
the residential home to say: “We can’t do any more; we need to phone
the police”. (Social Worker)

5.  I think that it’s sort of a lesson that they’re trying to
teach the other young people…That this is your home,
and while you’re living here, you’re here to look after
it, and if you do damage it, you will be punished.
(Leaving Care Worker)
 That would be at the staff’s discretion, obviously. If
they just slapped them, they might say, “Don’t do it
next time”…It would be the degree of assault. I would
support my staff one hundred per cent. Whatever they
decide, I’d go with. (Children’s Home Manager)

6.  We clearly do not want to get people involved in the criminal
justice system if at all possible. Then we also have to balance
that with the limited consequences that we can use at the
(home)…I guess we’re not able to do certain things that perhaps
an ordinary parent would be able to do. (Children’s Home
Manager)
 They don’t have any teeth. They’re limited in what they can do
and what they can’t do. (Social Worker)
 The Children Act… they all know what it is…They’ll quote the
rules and regulations: “You can’t do this, and you can’t do that.
You’re not allowed to do that. I’ll get my solicitor”. (Leaving Care
Worker)

7.  Youth justice system seen as useful and necessary
adjunct to the care system
 Number of interconnected themes predominate
 How such reliance can be effectively challenged?
 Changes to policy, practice and perception

8.  Thank you for your attention!
 Dr Julie Shaw: julie.shaw@strath.ac.uk
 Book: Residential Children’s Homes and the
Youth Justice System: Identity, Power and
Perceptions (June 2014) Palgrave Macmillan:
www.palgrave.com/products/title.aspx?pid=6
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