Judges and sector leaders have joined forces to work to prevent care leavers being drawn into the criminal justice system.
The session at the Corporation-run Central Criminal Court, or Old Bailey, was led by Sheriffs Keith Bottomley and Robert Hughes-Penney and looked at how courts and agencies can work together to reduce the unnecessary criminalisation of care-experienced young people.
The event came days after the Ministry of Justice announced a review to end automatic arrests of children in care who lash out or damage property, instead prioritising trauma-informed support.
Discussion focused on the Pan-London Compact for Care Leavers, a cross-sector agreement designed to ensure care-experienced young people receive better support when they come into contact with the justice system.
Sheriff Keith Bottomley said:
“The law must be applied with fairness and understanding. This wide-ranging discussion was aimed at understanding how the unique circumstances of care-experienced young people should be recognised to help prevent unnecessary criminalisation.”
Conversation at the event focused on identification and information sharing, prevention and diversion and better support for care leavers who enter the criminal justice system.
Speakers also discussed the MOPAC protocol, launched last week and developed by the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime, which sets out practical steps for police, social workers and carers to prevent unnecessary criminalisation.
It promotes a ‘child-first’ approach, prioritising prevention, early identification, diversion from prosecution and trauma-informed support. The revised version, due this autumn, will extend its scope to care leavers up to age 25.
It will link to wider reforms, including the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, currently before Parliament, which will extend corporate parenting duties to all government departments.
Chair of the Corporation’s Community and Children’s Services Committee Helen Fentimen said:
“Care-experienced young people often face barriers that others do not. Reducing criminalisation is about giving them a fair chance to succeed and ensuring the system supports, rather than punishes, vulnerability.”
The agenda featured contributions from the Pan London Children in Care Council and MOPAC, alongside learning from the West Midlands protocol, a regional agreement in which agencies work together to divert care-experienced young people away from the justice system.
A working group co-ordinated by the London Innovation and Improvement Alliance, also represented at the session, will now co-ordinate the efforts of all partners to work with young people to provide better and more targeted support.
The event was held during Care Leavers Month, which has as its theme ‘Rising as Me: Overcoming challenges, transforming, and finding your identity’. Keith Bottomley chairs Partnership for Young London, the capital’s regional youth unit, providing research, training, support for London’s youth sector.
The Sheriff is one of the key offices of the Corporation, with a role promoting and enhancing the rule of law and links between the City Corporation and the judiciary at the Old Bailey, and supporting the Lady Mayor.
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