Children in trouble with the law

Everyone wants to feel safe in their homes and communities and Barnardo’s is clear that children who offend must face up to the consequences of their actions.

Barnardo’s wants to see the Government and services respond to children in trouble as troubled children, so that those at risk of or engaged in offending can be challenged but also improve their life chances – this is the best way to make our communities safer for everybody.

Which children are affected?

Children in the youth justice system are predominantly drawn from the poorest and most disadvantaged families and communities and have multiple problems:

60 per cent have significant speech, language or communication difficulties
around a quarter have a learning disability
one third of young people in custody have a mental health disorder – 3 times higher than the general population
many have a history of abuse, bereavement or being in care.

Problems these children face:

children placed in custody face separation (sometimes by long distances) from family and friends, isolation from the community, and interruption to education, employment or training
children do not always receive the support they need to cope and to turn their lives around. In particular, those leaving custody often have inadequate accommodation and are not supported in getting back into education or training
custody is expensive and often ineffective. Despite improvements in recent years, 72 per cent of children released from custody go on to re-offend within one year.

The services Barnardo's provides

Barnardo's works with the most troubled and marginalised children, supporting them to break the cycle of crime. Barnardo’s provides:

diversionary, educational and intervention activities to prevent offending, especially for excluded children or those with substance abuse problems
intensive support for families with children with challenging behaviour, including parenting courses and mentoring
intensive intervention programmes as a direct alternative to custody, including restorative justice and remand fostering
advocacy services for children in custody
specialist therapeutic services for children displaying sexually harmful behaviour.

Kids Inside campaign

We are calling on the Government to consider raising the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12 and are urging them to spend money more wisely on effective ways to stop youth crime. Sign up to be a Barnardo's campaigner for all the latest news or find out more about the campaign.