As part of our new area of focus - Child-centred policing - the Centre has launched a new toolkit and offer of support for police forces.
This blog, written by Richard Timson, an associate of the Centre and the Director of Child-Centred Consultancy details why Child-Centred Policing matters.
Policing is never more scrutinised than when it involves children. Every interaction, whether protective, investigative, or enforcement‑led, shapes not only a child’s immediate safety but also their long‑term trust in the systems designed to protect them. Child‑centred policing recognises this reality. It places children’s rights, experiences, and developmental needs at the heart of decision‑making, ensuring policing is not done to children but with them, and always in their best interests.
Child‑centred policing is not a softer alternative to traditional policing - it is a practical, evidence‑based approach that delivers better outcomes. Research and frontline experience consistently show that early intervention and diversion reduce harm, improve engagement, and prevent escalation. In contrast, punitive responses often increase risk, offer limited benefit to victims or communities, and can entrench children further in the criminal justice system.
There will be cases where enforcement is necessary due to the seriousness of an offence or the risk posed to the public. Even then, understanding the root causes of a child’s behaviour and addressing underlying needs is essential to preventing further harm and reducing future offending.
Child‑centred policing is a disciplined, evidence‑informed approach that enhances legitimacy, improves outcomes, and aligns policing with public expectations of fairness, proportionality, and humanity. By working collaboratively with partner agencies, it ensures children and families receive the right support at the right time, reducing risk and building safer, more positive futures.
Children experience policing differently and more intensely
Children’s brains, emotions, and coping mechanisms are still developing. A routine police interaction can feel frightening or overwhelming. Their ability to understand rights, articulate needs, or challenge unfairness is limited, and the power imbalance is magnified. At times, children may appear older or more mature than they are; officers must therefore recognise adultification and the impact of disproportionality on how children are perceived and treated.
A child‑centred approach acknowledges this developmental reality. Officers adapt their communication, pace, and expectations to meet the needs of the child in front of them. In doing so, the experience of policing becomes as important as the outcome - supporting safety, dignity and trust.
Early encounters shape lifelong trust
A child’s first contact with police often becomes the lens through which they view authority, safety, and justice. A respectful, supportive interaction can build confidence and trust; a negative one can create fear, disengagement, or hostility that lasts into adulthood.
Child‑centred policing is therefore an investment in future relationships between communities and the police.
Children are disproportionately vulnerable to harm
Children are far more likely to be victims than perpetrators. Those who exploit them do so because of their age, dependency, and vulnerability. Whether the concern is criminal exploitation, domestic abuse, serious youth violence, missing episodes, online harm, or neglect, an effective policing response must look beyond the behaviour and recognise the unmet need beneath it.
A child‑centred lens reframes the core question from “What has this child done?” to “What has happened to this child?”
This shift leads to more holistic, proportionate and ethical decisions that address underlying causes and prevent further harm.
The law requires it, but culture delivers it
Legislation across the United Kingdom is clear: children must be treated differently from adults, with their welfare as a primary consideration. But compliance alone is not enough. True child‑centred practice is cultural, not procedural. Police leaders play a critical role in ensuring it is prioritised, scrutinised, and embedded consistently across forces and partnerships- avoiding a postcode lottery of standards.
This culture is grounded in:
- Curiosity rather than assumption
- Listening rather than directing
- Partnership rather than siloed working
- Reflection rather than defensiveness
When these behaviours become the norm, child‑centred policing becomes sustainable and consistent.
Better outcomes follow when children are heard
Children are experts in their own lives. When officers take time to listen and involve them in decisions, the quality of information improves. Investigations strengthen, safeguarding becomes more accurate, and children feel respected and are more likely to engage. Effective listening provides insight into why a child is behaving in a particular way and what support they need.
Child‑centred policing is not an “extra step” - it is a smarter, more effective way of working.
It supports officers
A child‑centred approach reduces conflict, increases cooperation, and supports officers to make proportionate and sound decisions. Training in trauma, adverse childhood experiences, neurodiversity, disproportionality, effective communication and diversionary pathways equips officers with the knowledge and confidence to respond appropriately to both the child and the victim.
This approach is rooted in sound decision‑making, guided by the National Decision Model and informed professional judgement.
It aligns policing with public expectation
Communities expect the police to protect children, treat them fairly, and act with humanity. When policing demonstrates empathy, proportionality, and respect, public confidence grows. Child‑centred practice is therefore not only ethically right but it is also fundamental to police legitimacy.
A child‑centred response considers the severity of the offence using the child gravity matrix and, wherever possible, prioritises diversionary pathways such as Out‑of‑Court Resolutions or Deferred Prosecution (Outcome 22). The aim is to secure the right help at the right time, reduce reoffending, and avoid unnecessary criminalisation.
Conclusion: Child‑centred policing is necessary, not optional
Child‑centred policing is about far more than safeguarding - it is about justice, rights, trust, and long‑term societal wellbeing. Embedding it into everyday policing practice and culture requires leadership commitment, high‑quality training, a focus on outcomes rather than numbers, inclusion within inspection frameworks, strong partnership cohesion and system‑wide alignment shaped by national direction, strategy and guidance. Above all, it rests on a fundamental belief that every child is a person of value whose voice matters.
Taking a child‑first approach- one centred on prevention, early intervention, and diversion- helps to address the root causes of behaviour, reduces the likelihood of escalation, and prevents children from being unnecessarily drawn into the criminal justice system. This not only protects the child’s future but also reduces long‑term harm to communities by breaking cycles of criminalisation and contributing to a safer, healthier society.
The Centre for Justice Innovation has recently launched our Child-centred policing toolkit, aimed at practitioners, namely police to support best practice when working with children in the justice system.
If you are interested in receiving support for your force, please get in touch with Bami at bjolaoso@justiceinnovation.org.