Child Centred Policing at the heart of our service

Chief Constable Catherine Roper is NPCC Lead for Children and Young People, she explains what Child Centred Policing means for communities:

This is both an exciting and challenging time for the Children and Young Persons portfolio. 30% of the population of England & Wales are under 25 and unfortunately too many young lives remain blighted by crime whether as victims, offenders or living in communities impacted by the fear of crime.  Our young people play a vital role, both now and in the future in delivering a safe and prosperous society and Policing must be relentless in our drive to improve how policing serves children and young people.  

October 2024 saw the publication of the new Children and Young Persons strategy which sets a clear direction to policing on how we can fully embrace Child Centred Policing.  At the very heart of our refreshed approach is the new definition of Child Centred Policing.  For the first time policing now has an agreed approach upon which policy and practice can be formulated and importantly assessed.  Building and maintaining trust amongst children and young people requires policing to be seen as legitimate and the Child Centred Policing definition clearly sets out the three key tenets of legitimacy: lawful, effective and fair.    

We have also established three delivery pillars to enable policing to focus our efforts on those areas that have the most impact. 

• YourTrust - building trust and confidence by delivering excellent Child Centred Policing that protects, respects and reduces harm.  

• YourVoice – ensuring the Voice of the Child is heard by all in policing and make children and young people feel engaged in policing their communities. 

• YourFuture - enabling all children and young people to fulfil their potential by preventing children becoming victims of crime, diverting children from committing crime and supporting employment and volunteering.  

The final element is the Children and Young Persons Policing Charter.  We know there are some fantastic examples of Child Centred Policing occurring all over the country and the charter will capture this to provide a functional resource of tactical activities that forces should consider; real things that make a real difference.  Our partners in the Youth Endowment Fund are bringing their expertise to assist us with a call for evidence and we look to publish the first version of the charter in the new year. 

The Children and Young Persons portfolio is passionate about improving how policing serves children and young people.  We know we are most effective when we collaborate with our partners, trusted adults and most importantly children and young people themselves, and so I call upon all colleagues to truly embrace Child Centred Policing and make a lasting contribution to our children and young people.