Offending and Anti-Social Behaviours - Guidance on when to Involve the Police

1. Requirement for Police Involvement

The home's registered manager should agree with the local Police, procedures and guidance on Police involvement with the home. The aim should be to reduce unnecessary Police involvement in managing behaviour and avoiding the criminalisation of behaviours within the home whenever possible. Children and young people should not be charged with offences resulting from behaviour within a children's home that would not similarly lead to Police involvement if it occurred in a family home.

A decision to contact the Police should normally be taken by the home's registered manager, unless a serious incident has occurred, in which case, staff may contact the Police immediately then inform a manager. See Section 2, Notifications and Categories of Response.

The following situations are the most common ones in children's homes where police involvement might be requested:

1.1 Missing Children

If a child/young person goes Missing, staff should follow the procedures as set out in the Missing Children Procedure.

1.2 Violence by a Child or Young Person on Another

Such incidents can range from minor disagreements to serious assaults where physical injury is caused.

The home's registered manager should consider the following when deciding whether to notify the police:

• Wishes and views of the victim;
• Severity of the injury sustained/nature of threat received by the victim;
• Probability of a repeat incident;
• Previous relationship between victim and offender;
• Potential impact on the child or young person following formal Police involvement;
• Likely effectiveness of Police action/court proceedings;
• Future best interests of both parties;
• Message sent to other children or young people;
• Availability of alternative causes of action, e.g. restorative approaches with the consent of the victim;
• Previous behaviour or offending, bullying/peer pressure/duress.

1.3 Violence to Staff by a Child or Young Person

Violence towards staff can range from verbal threats to physical acts amounting to assault. Whilst each of our homes has a responsibility of care towards children and young people, their welfare needs to be balanced with the rights of staff not to be subjected to violence and aggression in the course of their duties.

The decisions whether to report such incidents to the Police will be affected by factors similar to those listed above, and incidents should only be reported when it is agreed that they cannot be dealt with through other means. Where there is no immediate continuing threat of violence, it may be in the best interests of the staff member to take time to discuss and consider possible options with the registered manager. One option could be a referral to the Youth Offending Team Youth Crime Prevention Programme, another could be an informal visit to the home by the Police beat team.

Following such incidents it is important that staff utilise standard de-briefing processes, and should ensure risk assessments are updated or completed in relation to the risk of violence or injury to themselves or colleagues. A wider professional's meeting or care team meeting could be a useful method by which to assess these risks and look at ways that the risk(s) could be reduced.

1.4 Criminal Damage within the Home

The majority of criminal incidents involving Police relate to damage to the children's home, and serious consideration should be given to finding alternative responses. It is important to consider whether involving the Police is an effective and proportionate response, taking into account the following:

• Level/value of damage caused;
• Previous incidents of a similar nature by the same child or young person;
• Suitability or effectiveness of Police involvement;
• The impact of Police involvement within the context of the child's overall Care Plan;
• The message conveyed to other children and young people, if applicable;
• The impact on other children and young people whose past trauma bay be triggered or otherwise impacted by the attendance of the Police to their home;
• Availability of alternative courses of action, for example the agreement of remedial repairs to the home by the child or young person (with necessary support from staff) or a referral to the Youth Offending Team.

1.5 Theft within the Home

When a child or young person has stolen an item in the home, or from another child or young person, or staff member, the following should be considered before involving the Police:

• Wishes and views of the victim;
• Nature and seriousness of the allegation;
• Requirement for formal investigation e.g., an insurance claim would require a crime reference number or report;
• Availability of alternative courses of action, e.g. restorative approaches.

1.6 Criminal Damage to Staff Cars or Property

Factors for consideration should be similar to those in Section 1.3, Criminal Damage within the Home, and this list does not reflect any order of priority:

• Nature and seriousness of the allegation;
• Requirement for formal investigation, e.g., insurance claim;
• Wishes and views of the victim;
• Availability of alternative courses of action, e.g. restorative approaches.

1.7 Disorder in or Around the Home

The area of disorder is subjective and requires judgement by staff to avoid unnecessary Police involvement for minor infringements of discipline. The main factors that should be considered are:

• Nature and seriousness of the disorder;
• Risk or threat of violence;
• The wishes of and impact on the immediate community;
• The availability and assessed suitability of alternative courses of action.

1.8 Substance Misuse

See Drugs and Substance Misuse Procedure.

1.9 Hate Crime (based on the protected characteristics of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion/belief, sex (gender) and sexual orientation)

All acceptable behaviour policies held within homes should cover hate crime and make clear how staff, children and young people should deal with it. Staff in our homes should handle low level daily occurrences.

• In the recording of racist incidents the minimum data content required should be as follows:
  • Reported to: (The person receiving the report such as the registered manager, staff, Police);
  • At: (location reported at): (i.e. home, Police station, etc.);
  • Referred by: (the agency or other person referring the victim to the Police if the incident is being referred);
  • Time and date of report and nature of incident. This should be factual, objective and non-judgemental recording.

2. Notifications and Categories of Response

It is recognised that caring for children and young people with sometimes challenging behaviours is an integral feature of residential care work. Residential staff will generally manage problematic situations except where they are so severe that immediate Police involvement is essential in order to avoid the child harming themselves or others and/or causing significant damage to their home and property.

2.1 Serious Incidents

Incidents of violence requiring an immediate Police response where children, young people or staff are:

• At risk of immediate serious physical harm;
• Where there is a risk of substantial damage to property; or
• Risk of significant disorder with the home.

In such situations the manager of the home/senior person on duty should contact the Police by calling 999.

If the manager has not been consulted/informed prior to contacting the Police, they should be notified without delay:

• If the Police are called to the home, or
• A serious offence is committed, the relevant senior managers must be notified.

It will also be necessary to notify the social worker and the Regulatory Authority (see Notification of Serious Events Procedure) in the event that Police are called to the home.

2.2 Incidents which are not Considered Serious

This is an incident where no immediate Police response is required for example where assaults or damage has occurred and there is no risk of recurrence/Significant Harm to people, or incidents of theft. The incidents should be reported to the home's registered manager who then has the responsibility of identifying the appropriate course of action.

It is important to avoid any unnecessary reporting of incidents to the Police. Should the Manager decide and/or the victim wishes that formal Police involvement is necessary, where possible this should be through the local Police, for example as part of regular Liaison Meetings.

When a situation involving a child or young person is to be discussed at the Liaison Meeting the child or young person's social worker should be informed and they may wish to join the discussion.

If the discussion needs to be held sooner the manager should arrange for a member of the Local Policing Team to visit the home as soon as possible. If there is a specific officer who frequently liaises with the home and this officer is unavailable the manager should contact the Police Control Room to request a delay or scheduled response visit by another officer.

In certain circumstances preservation of evidence may be an issue and residential staff will need to ensure that reasonable steps are taken to retain articles relevant to any criminal allegation or police investigation.

A referral to the Youth Crime Prevention Programme (usually organised by the YOT) should be considered for those cases considered not serious or internal, via the social worker.

2.3 Ongoing Liaison

Police involvement should be on a risk assessment basis. If there is no risk, then the involvement will be with managers or at a low level of involvement.

The primary Police involvement in children's homes should be through a member of the Local Police meeting staff on a regular basis. Whilst some officers may already perform this duty it must be emphasised that a good working relationship is the most effective way to respond to children and young people with difficulties, and it is in this area that consideration should be given for joint agency training.

A regular liaison meeting (ideally on a four-weekly basis) between a member of the Local Police and the manager provides opportunity for discussion of any minor incidents within the home to identify the appropriate method of resolution, including:

• Internal action by staff with no Police involvement;
• Formal Police investigation primarily by a member of the Local Police (and any resulting action).

This liaison meeting will also provide an opportunity to share more general views and co-operation and develop a better understanding of each agency's responsibilities and practices, the likely outcomes of any intervention and the assessed impact on the child or young person of any subsequent engagement.

It is important to be flexible when determining the most suitable option for supporting children and young people who have exhibited offending or anti-social behaviours. They themselves may already be classed as a victim, or have been exploited, and their prior experiences with uniformed services should also be considered. Additional advice and support should be sought from the child or young person's social worker and wider care team.

3. Recording

The following records must be completed and reviewed by a senior or registered manager:

• An Incident Report;
• Where necessary, particularly if Police were called to the home to provide assistance, a regulation 40 notification;
• The Daily Log;
• Daily Records.