Experts call for mental health hubs to prevent child exploitation

Mental health hubs in areas of disadvantage are needed to protect vulnerable children from criminal exploitation, experts say in a new report.

The report, the latest to be published by Child of the North and the Center for Young Lives, describes how children who enter the criminal justice system have usually suffered childhood adversity—and sets out an evidence-based plan to tackle the issue.

The new report shows how, every year, thousands of children become involved in the criminal justice system or become victims of serious violence or crime.

While increasingly fewer young people are going into secure custody, most children involved in the criminal justice system share similar experiences of childhood adversity, including poverty, unmet SEND, exclusion from school, abuse, neglect and exposure to domestic violence, addiction, or mental ill-health at home.

It recommends tackling the issue with a ‘whole system’ approach; addressing children’s underlying vulnerabilities including mental health issues, and providing community-based programs for young people.

The report shows how:

• Eight in 10 young people in the youth justice system were identified as having SEND
• 85% of boys in Young Offender Institutions have previously been excluded from school
• While 94% of looked-after children in England and Wales do not get into trouble with the law, approximately half of the children in custody have been in care at some point.

Professor Mark Mon-Williams, Child of The North report series editor and Chair in Cognitive Psychology at the University of Leeds, said, “Preventing children from entering the criminal justice system is not just a moral imperative but essential for a prosperous country. We would empty our prisons if we invested in early interventions that address the root causes of vulnerability. The evidence shows we can break intergenerational cycles of disadvantage by prioritizing education, mental health, and community support.

“Breaking the links between a disadvantaged childhood and the criminal justice system would create a brighter future for all children and the whole of our society.”

Influencing policy

“An evidence-based plan for addressing childhood vulnerability, crime and justice” is the 11th in a series of Child of the North/Center for Young Lives reports being published during 2024 to support the Government’s ambitious Opportunity Mission for children. Each of the reports show how putting the interests and life chances of children at the heart of policymaking and delivery is crucial to Britain’s future success.

The latest report shows how the likelihood of young people being drawn into the criminal justice system is strongly influenced by where they live, their race, ethnic and cultural heritage, experiences of care, and levels of deprivation. It argues for a change in how children involved in the criminal justice system are viewed, as vulnerable young people are often the manipulated victims of exploitation, grooming, and harm.

It makes a series of recommendations which align with the new Government’s Opportunity Mission for children and its Young Futures plans, including:

A holistic and coordinated “whole-system” approach with public services working together to identify and address the reasons why children offend or become victims of crime.

Services should be better connected and embedded within local communities, particularly in the most disadvantaged areas. Trauma-informed mental health services should be placed in community hubs, youth centers, and schools, and social workers, mental health professionals, and youth workers should work collaboratively to identify early signs of distress and to build a proactive support system for young people at risk.

Teachers, school staff, and dedicated mental health teams should be supported to work collaboratively to identify early signs of harm, and to offer a support system for pupils who may otherwise fall through the cracks.

Partnerships with local health services and community organizations should strengthen this approach by bringing a wider range of expertise together, creating a holistic, “whole-system” safety net. This should also go alongside a greater focus on tackling extra-familial risks.

Addressing children’s underlying vulnerabilities and disadvantages, rather than their behaviors, preventing them from becoming victims of crime and reducing offending and improving outcomes.

A key factor in reducing involvement in the criminal justice system and improving outcomes is addressing children’s underlying vulnerabilities and disadvantages.

As the evidence from county lines and child sexual abuse illustrates, there needs to be greater recognition of the overlap between victimization and offending that supports children to develop positive relationships with trusted adults. Focusing on early interventions that build resilience and prevent escalation is essential.

Given the strong association between being in care and criminal exploitation and criminalization, there is a need also to focus on providing greater social work and welfare support for looked-after children. Developing a more inclusive school system that supports vulnerable pupils, including training to help school staff to recognize SEND, neurodivergence, and signs of distress and trauma is crucial.

Diversion schemes for children, young people, their families, and communities to keep young people out of the criminal justice system.

Community-based programs which can provide safe and constructive outlets for children, steering them away from harmful environments and potential criminal involvement are urgently needed.

Schools, as community anchors, should be supported to collaborate with local organizations capable of offering extracurricular programs that build skills, self-worth, and community connection. These programs need investment because they are more than just “after-school activities,” they are community well-being and crime prevention measures that build resilience, a sense of belonging, and self-worth.

Whole-system approach

Anne Longfield, Executive Chair of the Center for Young Lives, said, “Our prisons are full, and our streets feel unsafe. Hardly a week passes without seeing the horrific consequences of failing to tackle serious violence and exploitation. Teenagers are losing their lives or their liberty, families are left devastated, and communities are left in shock.

“Frequently, there is a chilling sense of inevitability for many of the most vulnerable children, particularly those with unsupported Special Educational Needs and those in care or on the edge of it. They are at greater risk of being groomed into criminal or sexual exploitation or caught up in gangs and serious violence.

“Supporting these children and their families early, through schools, youth work, and mental health support, is crucial. We need a whole-child and whole-system approach to tackle childhood vulnerability, with children and families at the center of coordinated services.

“The new Government is already making clear that its approach to tackling serious violence and exploitation will include intervention and diversion programs to support vulnerable teenagers, including its forthcoming Young Futures pilots.

“This provides a vital opportunity to start to rebuild and refresh the community-based, targeted interventions that we know can divert young people away from harm, boosting life chances, and saving lives. The recommendations set out in this report should be at the heart of that program.”

Co-author of the report, Professor Adam Crawford, Co-Director of the ESRC Vulnerability & Policing Futures Research Center and Professor of Criminology & Criminal Justice in Leeds’ School of Law, said, “There is both an urgent need and ripe opportunity to shift the dial on how we advance a ‘whole system’ approach to childhood vulnerability, crime, and justice that places children’s needs at the heart of service provision.

“Reducing exposure to harm up-stream and minimizing young people’s engagement with criminal justice through diversion are key to preventing children becoming victims of crime, reducing offending and improving outcomes, not only in childhood but across the life-course.”