Research by the Howard league for Penal Reform finds that children living in children’s homes are being criminalised at excessively high rates compared to other children, including those in other types of care. The report, ‘Criminal care: children’s homes and criminalising children’, draws on Department for Education statistics, which indicate that about 4 per cent of children aged 10 to 12 who live in children’s homes have been exposed to the police/criminal justice system, rising to more than 19 per cent among children aged 13 to 15. Among 13 to 15-year-olds, children living in children’s homes are almost six times as likely to be criminalised as looked after children in other placements – and almost 20 times more likely to be criminalised than a non-looked after child.
For more information and a link to the report visit the Howard League website.