Children First (Child and Young Persons)

Been in trouble with the police? What is going to happen next?

Children First

Children First supports children and young people (anyone under the age of 18) to make their lives better. If children or young people are living a better life they are less likely to be involved with crime.

If children/young people do a crime and get a criminal record this may make it harder to go to college, get a job, travel to some places or find somewhere to live. It is better if they don’t get a criminal record.

The Children First pathway tries to keep children/young people away from court wherever possible. This stops them receiving a criminal record and means they do not have to go to court.

Children First works with everyone the crime has affected. This does not mean we do everything everybody wants; it means we listen to everyone. It is really important that the child/young person understands how their actions have affected other people.

The child/young person needs to admit they did the crime, and take part in the discussions with workers. They need to come to sessions, talk and think about what is being said. If they do not do this, they may have to go back to court and could get a criminal record.

If the crime is more serious it will have to go to court and won’t be able to go through Children First.

Victims/people harmed

If someone has been affected or harmed by the crime, they will be asked if they want to share with Children First what happened and how it affected them, this helps everyone to understand better. A victim/harmed person can decide how much or how little they would like to be involved, and what sort of updates they would like.

Children First wants to understand and think about how the crime has affected anyone harmed, as well as help stop the child/young person who did the crime from doing any more crime.

Joint Decision Panel (also known as a JDP)

This is a meeting made up of people from:

• Police
• Social Care
• Victim Services
• Youth Support Team
• Education
• Restorative Gloucestershire
• Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (also known as CAMHS)

The panel talks about what the crime was, how it happened, how it affected anyone harmed, and what is going on in the child / young person’s life. The panel then decide what should happen to the child / young person, they could get:

1. Children First pathway/Restorative Justice Level 1/Community Resolution

• This means the child/young person does not have a criminal record but a record will remain on the local police computer and should they stay out of trouble in the future it is unlikely that this will appear on an enhanced DBS check (but not impossible, please see suggestions at the end for who to contact for more information if required).
• It means that the child/young person works with the Youth Support Team and/or Restorative Gloucestershire, or any other service deemed appropriate, to make sure that this does not happen again. This could be: a drug and substance misuse program, behaviour and anger management support, restorative work with or for the victim, victim impact awareness work, or an activity to give back to the community. The pathway can be tailored to the nature of the offence and the needs of the young person and victim (if relevant).
• The child/young person does not have to engage, but if they don’t the crime will be taken back to the JDP and another option on this list will be chosen.
• All Children First pathways will have a compulsory component and restorative interventions are the preferred option for this. However it is recognised that this is not always possible or suitable. In these cases the compulsory component will be about reducing the risk of the young person getting in to trouble with the police again, including exploring their wider support needs.

2. Youth Conditional Caution

• A Youth Conditional Caution is a formal warning by the police and means the child or young person has a criminal record.
• After 3 months, the child/young person doesn’t have to tell anyone about this when they try and get a job, go to college or get a house. However, if they want to get a job working with children or vulnerable adults (e.g. old people), it might come up in a check (*see note at the end about possible changes to this that will be happening).
• Youth cautions are used when the police have enough evidence, but it is not in the public interest to charge a child/young person with a criminal offence.
• The child/young person will have to sign a form accepting the caution.
• The child/young person also needs to come and talk to people to help make their life better. This could be talking about anger management, substance misuse, and/or talking about the affect the crime had on other people. It could also be to carry out activities that make things better for other people.
• If the child/young person doesn’t do what they have been asked to do, then the police could say that the child has to go to court instead.

3. Charge (going to court)

The child/young person will be charged with a crime and they will have to go to
court if:

• the crime is more serious
• they didn’t come to appointments or take part in the discussions with workers.

Once a child/young person is charged with an offence, they will be given a date
to go to court. They have to go to court on that day, and it is a criminal offence
not to. It is then up to the court to decide what will happen to them.

4. No further action (NFA) (when decided by the Children First Joint Decision Panel)

This means that the child/young person does not have to do anything, and they
do not have to go to court and will not get a criminal record. This happens when:

• there is not enough evidence to charge a person with an offence
• it would not be in the public interest.

The outcome of the case is recorded as ‘no further action’ (NFA) on the police
national computer.

Sometimes other decisions are made by the police (instead of the Children First Panel):

The police say there is ‘no further action’ (NFA)

• Some children/young people will not be referred to the Children First Joint
  Decision Panel as the police can say there is no further action. If there is no further action before there is further investigation, statement or interview then this information is only recorded on the local police system
  not the police national database (unless they have been through custody – see table on page 10).
• Sometimes no further action is needed by the police, but the child/young
  person might need some help from the Youth Support Team. This means
  that it is good if they get some help but if they don’t, nothing will happen.

Restorative Justice Level 1 (RJ Level 1)/Community Resolution

• These usually happen very soon after a child/young person has done
  a crime, often arranged by a Police Officer soon after the crime, if they
  decide it is safe and helpful.
• The incident must not be too serious, and the child/young person and
  person harmed must not need any extra help before it happens. These
  outcomes might be an apology, in person or in writing, or some other way
  to help make things better.

When would a child/young person need a solicitor?

When the police think a child/young person might have done a crime, they will interview them to try and find out what happened. It is important that the interview is fair.

Any time a child or young person is interviewed by the police, they can have an independent solicitor. This doesn’t cost any money. The solicitor helps them, making sure the questions are fair. A child/young person can ask for a solicitor before the interview, or on the day they can ask for the duty solicitor.

Have the police written the right things?

It is really important that the child/young person makes sure the information the police have written about them is right. Anyone can go online and ask to look at their police records.

Request information about a person written on the Police National Computer (PNC).

Request information about a person written on the local Police Computer (UNIFI).

If the child or young person is working with someone from the Youth Support Team, then they could help with this.

Comments, suggestions or complaints

If you have any comments, suggestions or complaints about the Children First scheme, please email us.

Alternatively, feedback can be shared through the Gloucestershire Constabulary website.

*The Government plans to change some criminal records rules. No date has been decided yet, but it will mean this ‘yes’ is expected to change to ‘probably not’. Find out more.

If you would like more information, please email us or visit the Gloucestershire Constabulary website.