We’re pleased to share the findings of our latest research, carried out on behalf of the Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) and Department for Education (DfE), which explores police safeguarding approaches for children they come into contact with for breaking the law, and how such children are supported by Youth Justice Services and other agencies through diversionary support pathways across England and Wales.

The research aimed to examine how police officers make decisions around whether to refer a child to a diversionary service (aka Out-of-Court Resolutions) or pursue a formal criminal justice outcome, and what influences those decisions. It also explored what support is available for children from Youth Justice Services, as well as voluntary and community sector organisations, and how agencies work together to provide effective and equitable support.

We took a four-phased, mixed-methods approach which included a national survey to Youth Justice Services, interviews and workshops with a wide range of stakeholders as well as journey mapping interviews with children with lived experiences. Through this, we identified key enablers and barriers to effective referral, highlighted gaps in evidence-based provision, and surfaced promising approaches to multi-agency collaboration.

Key findings and impact

The report sets out a number of practical recommendations for improving outcomes for children at both a national and local level. These include:

• Embedding child-centred and trauma-informed practices in police interactions with children, with national KPIs and regular training to support adoption.
• Having officers dedicated to promoting child centred policing across the force, implementing structured feedback on referrals and outcomes, and improving use of Outcome 22.
• Improving responses to children who are neurodivergent or who have mental ill-health through increased training for police officers and appropriate adults, and involving speech and language therapists in developing resources for arrested children.
• Improving oversight and support for YJSs to ensure support for children is evidence-informed and culturally competent.

Our findings have already been used to stimulate cross-sector dialogue, and we were pleased to present them at YEF’s Diversion Conference in Birmingham in April 2025, where we heard from professionals, policy-makers and practitioners working to improve diversion for children at risk of entering the formal youth justice system.

Read the reports

Two page summary research report

Arrested Children Report Final

National YJS Survey Final

If you’d like to discuss the findings or how we can support your organisation’s work in this space, please do get in touch with Dr Angela Collins, Principal Consultant.