Care experienced girls 5.7 times more likely to enter criminal justice system

Care-experienced girls are significantly more likely to come into contact with the criminal justice system than their peers, according to new research that raises fresh questions about how child welfare interventions can unintentionally increase the risk of criminalisation.

A three-year study led by Dr Anna Leyland at Manchester Metropolitan University, alongside researchers from the universities of Birmingham and Sheffield, found that girls who had been in care were 5.7 times more likely to be cautioned or convicted for a criminal offence than girls with no involvement in child welfare services.

The research analysed linked administrative data from the Department for Education and the Ministry of Justice covering the period from 2002 to 2020. It tracked more than 1.7 million children born between 1995 and 1998 in England, examining education records, child welfare service involvement and contact with the criminal justice system into early adulthood.

While boys continue to make up the majority of children in the youth justice system — accounting for around 76% of those involved — the study found that child welfare involvement had a disproportionately greater impact on girls’ likelihood of criminal justice contact.

The researchers noted that many children who come into contact with child welfare services have experienced maltreatment, high levels of adversity or complex health needs. However, even lower-level involvement appeared to be linked to increased criminalisation.

Children who had been referred to child welfare services but did not go on to receive a formal intervention, as well as those who had a social worker, were found to be twice as likely to be cautioned or convicted compared with children who had no involvement with services.

The highest risk was among children placed in out-of-home care. Looked-after children were 4.5 times more likely to have contact with the criminal justice system than those without child welfare involvement.

Publishing their findings in the journal Child Abuse & Neglect, the researchers argue that contact with the care system itself may be playing a role in increasing the likelihood of criminal justice involvement, particularly for girls.

Dr Leyland said the study highlighted an overlooked group within youth justice policy and practice.

“Our research filled a gap by highlighting that children at all levels of the child welfare system experience greater risk of criminalisation than other children,” she said. “Our findings also show this risk is particularly pronounced for girls; a group whose specific needs are often overlooked.

“We need to work with policymakers and practitioners to create a system that better supports children in the child welfare system, reduces their risk of criminal justice involvement and ultimately helps them to thrive.”

In response to the findings, the research team is calling on local authorities and partner agencies to review policies and everyday practices that may be contributing to the criminalisation of vulnerable children, including how behaviour is managed in care settings and the thresholds for involving police.

The study was funded by Administrative Data Research UK (ADR UK), a partnership aimed at improving policy and practice through the use of linked public sector data, supported by the Economic and Social Research Council as part of UK Research and Innovation.

Researchers hope the evidence will prompt renewed focus on trauma-informed approaches in both children’s social care and youth justice, particularly for girls whose experiences and pathways into the justice system have historically received less attention.