Punishing Abuse Final

Punishing Abuse Children in the West Midlands Criminal Justice System Systemic Development in the Public Sector Copyright © 2021 the West Midlands Combined Authority. All rights are reserved, unauthorised copying or dissemination by any means is prohibited. Dr Alex Chard asserts his moral rights to be identified as the author of this report. References in this report to ALTARTM are to a framework and methodology created by Dr Alex Chard, YCTCS Ltd. The copyright and all other rights to this framework and methodology are exclusively reserved to Dr Alex Chard, YCTCS Ltd. © Dr Alex Chard YCTCS Ltd 2016-2021 all rights reserved. The ALTARTM Framework may not be used without prior written permission from YCTCS Ltd. The report has been published by the West Midlands Combined Authority and the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner. The report is co-branded by WMCA, the WMPCC and YCTCS Ltd by agreement of all parties. The design and layout of this report is copyright © Alex Chard YCTCS Ltd. The front cover image is credited to ArtMari/shuttersock.com. Any enquiries regarding this report should be made to Claire Dhami, Head of Public Service Reform and Prevention at the WMCA, email [email protected]. To contact the author Dr Alex Chard, email [email protected]. Contents Page Joint Foreword David Jamieson West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner i Andy Street Mayor of the West Midlands Foreword Anne Longfield Children’s Commissioner for England i Part One Introductory Chapters 1 Introduction 3 Readers Guide 6 Research Approach 8 Acknowledgements 13 Part Two Analysis of Eighty Cases 15 Key Findings - Risk Matrices 17 Analysis of Risk Matrices 18 Key Findings - Case Storylines 32 Analysis of Case Storylines 32 Through an ALTARTM Lens 44 Neurodivergence and Traumatic Brain Injury 64 Key Findings - Neurodivergence and TBI 64 Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) 70 Key Findings - Adverse Childhood Experiences 70 Part Three Specific Groups 79 Key Findings - The Girls 81 The Girls 81 Key Findings - Children and Custody 88 Children and Custody 88 Key Findings - Gang Involved Children 96 Gang Involved Children 96 Key Findings - Migrant Children 107 Migrant Children 107 Part Four 121 Summary Strategic Issues and Proposals 123 Appendices 143 Appendix A Closing the Gap 145 Appendix B Summary of Proposals 146 Page blank to allow for duplex printing. i Punishing Abuse Forewords Joint Foreword Andy Street Mayor of the West Midlands David Jamieson West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner We know that the local authorities, schools, police, other vital public services and organisations within our essential voluntary and community sectors, are working tirelessly to improve the lives of children across the West Midlands. A crucial part of this is their work to help some of our most vulnerable children cope with the fallout from poverty, and, sadly experiences of trauma. We initiated this research because we believed that both the extent and impact of trauma for some children was having a profound effect on these young people’s vulnerability. This extremely detailed and sophisticated study of children in our region has shown this to be the case, and the picture presented by the evidence is distressing. Vitally, these findings substantiate the case for robust investment in supporting vulnerable children and families in early years, health, schools and in their homes, before problems become more serious. It also strongly supports the case for providing more supportive avenues for children who have entered the criminal justice system. With a renewed case for investment, and with continued support from government, the future for these vulnerable children can be so much brighter. This important research shows that we do not have a viable alternative other than to tackle head-on the challenges that these children face. ! Andy Street David Jamieson Foreword Anne Longfield Children’s Commissioner for England I have consistently called for the recognition that childhood trauma can leave a lasting harmful effect on children, which in some cases can render them vulnerable to falling into the criminal justice system. This comprehensive and harrowing report is a powerful reinforcement of the need to support all children who have suffered, to give them the very best chance of a happy life; lives free of trauma, free of crime and experiences that help children achieve their talents and potential. Anne Longfield February 2021 Page blank to allow for duplex printing. Part One Introductory Chapters Page blank to allow for duplex printing. 3 Punishing Abuse Introduction Introduction • Are services currently meeting the needs of such abused and harmed children? • Is punishment a just response for children whose behaviour has been affected by abuse and harm? Children who have been neglected, abused or exploited The research was undertaken by applying an should receive special help to physically and evidenced based framework ALTARTM that considers psychologically recover and reintegrate into society. the impact of Abuse, Loss, Trauma and Attachment Particular attention should be paid to restoring the health, self-respect and dignity of the child. and considers ways to build systemic Resilience for United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child children, families and communities. This report provides the results of an action research Drawing on multi-agency data sources practitioners project designed to discover the extent of abuse and completed a Risk Matrix of two-hundred and forty other adversity for a diverse range of children known factors and a Case Storyline about key life events and to Youth Offending Teams in the West Midlands. the journey of eighty children through agency systems. The case research was completed in 2019. Whilst the original purpose of the research was to inform regional reform of the youth justice system, The research was designed from an action research the analysis has identified the systemic failure to meet perspective intended to create systemic change. The the needs of these children. This has led to proposals research approach has created a contemporary data for much wider reform of public services. set that is unique, because it: • Was created by practitioners from multi-agency The overwhelming evidence of poverty, abuse, loss data and their detailed knowledge of children; adversity and probable trauma for the children • Includes a significant quantitative and qualitative studied is considered alongside the academic data set created by practitioner research; evidence on the likely impact on children’s lives and behaviours. This analysis led to the title of this report • Covers a wide geographic area of England with Punishing Abuse. The findings have profound rural, urban and inner city areas. implications for policy and practice in work with The initial research chapters provide a detailed troubled children, not just locally but also nationally. analysis of the quantitative data from the Risk The research was undertaken on behalf of the West Matrices and the qualitative data from the Case Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) in Storylines. Using this data, the next chapter considers collaboration with the Office of the Police and Crime the academic evidence of the impact on children of Commissioner (PCC). A range of public bodies and abuse, loss and other adversity. Two further chapters eleven local authorities collaborated in the research. then consider Neurodivergence and Traumatic Brain Dr Alex Chard, Director of YCTCS Ltd, who is the Injury and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). author of this report, led the research. The funding from the PCC significantly extended the A range of critical issues and ethical questions are data set and supported research into children raised by this study, significantly these include: involved with gangs. The extent of the data set allowed specific consideration of the profile of girls, • Why are there such high levels of children who children in custody and migrant children, a series of have been abused and harmed in the youth chapters consider these particular groups. justice system? Introduction Punishing Abuse 4 A range of studies show that early childhood abuse Through such reform agencies can meet their moral, and trauma cause changes in the structure of the national and international legal obligations to help developing brain. Abused children show similar children who have been abused and harmed in other profiles in brain scans to soldiers who experience the ways. Reform is also clearly needed in order to better horrors of combat1. This powerfully informs the view protect children and communities from further harm. that abused children need to be helped to recover, rather than being punished for behaviours that Diversity, Discrimination and Equalities emanate from their abuse. The data in a number of areas suggests the possibility A significant societal burden of high harm and high of over-representation or discrimination. However, as social and financial cost is evident from this research. this was not a randomised study care is needed in The analysis reveals the underlying systemic issues reaching conclusions. Practitioners investigated escalating children into the justice system including: children who were of interest to explore through an • That poverty has impacted powerfully and ALTARTM lens. Selection of the study group also detrimentally on the majority of these children; included children suspected or known to be involved • The vast majority have suffered

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