Managing Offending Behaviour of Children Looked After

Contents

1. Relationships with the Police
2. Managing Serious Disruption
3. Theft or Damage to Property
4. Violence/Assaults
5. Notifications and Recording

1. Relationships with the Police

Staff working in residential homes must develop co-operative relationships with the Police and should seek their advice on matters of concern, security and crime prevention. The aim should be to reduce unnecessary Police involvement in managing the behaviour of children and young people and avoiding the criminalisation of behaviours within the home whenever possible

Criminal behaviour should not be condoned, but it is important to be mindful of our duty to consider the overall welfare of young people; which may mean recognising that illegal activity is taking place and working to minimise risks and consequences. As a guiding principle, children should not be charged with offences resulting from behaviour within a children’s home that would not similarly lead to Police involvement if it occurred in a family home.

Unless otherwise set out in writing, for example in a child’s Placement Plan, any suspicion on the part of staff/carers that a child has or is likely to commit an offence must be discussed with the home’s manager; who should then consult the child’s social worker if the behaviour is persistent or serious.

Reporting Incidents to the Police

Any decision to report matters to the Police or consult them should normally only be taken in consultation with the home's manager and the social worker’s team manager.

If staff or carers are considering contacting the Police at times when social work offices are closed and they cannot contact their manager or supervising social worker, they must contact either the on-call manager for the home or the Emergency Duty Team.

Where there are concerns that a child is engaged or likely to be engaged in offending behaviour, measures must be adopted to reduce or prevent it. Where the behaviour is persistent or serious, the child’s Placement Plan must include a summary of the concerns and the strategies being adopted to address the behaviour.

In this respect, other relevant agencies, including the Police, may be consulted and involved.

If necessary the Placement Plan should indicate whether and in what circumstances the Police should be contacted should suspicions arise about offending behaviour.

2. Managing Serious Disruption

Staff/carers are expected to do all that is reasonable to manage the behaviour of young people in our care, this includes the management of confrontational and disruptive behaviour.

As a last resort, Physical Intervention can be used to prevent young people or others being injured or to prevent damage to property.

If the potential injury is significant or the potential damage is serious, Restraint can also be used but if this is not possible or control is lost and the risks of injury or damage escalate, the Police may be called for assistance.

If possible, the social worker’s Team Manager should give authorisation to such action, but if this is not possible, staff/carers should act as they see fit and then inform the child’s social worker / their manager as soon as possible thereafter.

See also: Use of Restraint and Physical Interventions Procedure

3. Theft or Damage to Property

When a young person has stolen an item from the home, or from another young person or staff member the following should be considered before involving the Police:

• Wishes of the victim;
• Nature and seriousness of the allegation;
• Requirement for formal investigation, e.g. insurance claim requires a crime reference report;
• Availability of alternative courses of action, e.g. restorative approaches

4. Violence/Assaults

Violence towards staff can range from verbal threats to physical acts amounting to assault. Whilst each home has the responsibility of care towards the young people, their welfare needs to be balanced with the rights of staff not to be subjected to violence in the course of their duties.

The decisions whether to report such incidents to the Police are also affected by factors similar to those listed above, and should be reported when it is agreed that they cannot be dealt with through other means. Where there is no immediate continuing threat of violence it may be in the best interests of the staff member to take time to discuss and consider possible options. One option could be a referral to the Youth Offending Team Youth Crime Prevention Programme, via the relevant social worker. Following such incidents it is important that staff utilise standard de-briefing processes.

Following any such incident, staff should ensure risk assessments are updated or completed in relation to the risk of violence or injury to themselves or colleagues. A professional’s meeting could be a useful method by which to assess these risks and look at ways this risk could be reduced.

5. Notifications and Recording

If the Police are called to provide assistance in managing an incident of any kind in a home, the child's social worker and manager must be notified as soon as practicable afterwards.

See also Notification of Serious Events Procedure.