Description:

Cheshire’s local multi-agency protocol aspires to reduce the unnecessary criminalisation of Cheshire’s cared for children and care leavers in an ethical and proportionate way.

Also available to download are the following:

Appendix 1: Police contact form

Appendix 2: 10 point cecklist 

Appendix 3: youth checklist

Children in custody and receiving criminal sentences in the UK, had a history of being in care. Therefore, the key motive of this protocol is to encourage and provide the framework for these agencies to work collaboratively and create local arrangements to reduce these high records and unnecessary criminalisation.

The key objectives of the protocol are to:

• To reduce the unnecessary criminalisation of cared for children and care leavers,
• To encourage and increase the use of restorative justice approaches to managing behaviour within the children’s homes,
• To underpin and strengthen the multi-agency dedication to reducing the criminalisation of cared for children and care leavers,
• To strike a balance between the rights, responsibilities and needs of the young person and the rights, corporate parenting responsibilities, and duties of staff and the local authorities. This further includes decisions to instigate Police action and whether or not Police involvement is the most appropriate course of action on an individual incident basis,
• To maintain that the rights and needs of victims are given due attention in any decision making process relating to the offending child.

Contact: