New research co-led by the University of Bedfordshire and the University of Lancashire has highlighted the need for more consistent child-centred and safeguarding-led approaches across policing, with children and young people’s experiences varying depending on where they live, who they encounter, the reason for these encounters and how well systems support frontline practice.
Two new studies, both funded by the Youth Endowment Fund (YEF), examine how policing can better build trust with children and young people and strengthen safeguarding responses for children affected by violence. The studies were led by Professor Debra Allnock from the Safer Young Lives Research Centre at the University of Bedfordshire and Professor Helen Beckett, from the Connect Centre for International Research on Interpersonal Violence and Harm at the University of Lancashire.
The first study, ‘Child-centred policing in practice: Insights from children and young people’, explored how police can build trust, listen to children and ensure they have a meaningful voice in encounters with officers. Crucially, the study found that children and young people judge policing as much by how they do things, as what they do.
They identified fairness, respect, clear communication, emotional safety and genuine opportunities to be heard as key to building trust. Being listened to meant more than simply being given an opportunity to speak – children wanted their views taken into account, to understand what would happen next, and to receive follow-ups where appropriate.
The study identifies eight child-centred policing principles, including communication, fair treatment, voice and participation, welfare-first, and follow-through. These have been translated into practical guidance for frontline officers.
The research also highlights how identity and previous experiences can shape encounters with police. Black children and young people described experiences of suspicion, adultification and racialised assumptions, while neurodivergent children and young people and those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) highlighted the impact of unmet sensory, communication and processing needs, particularly during fast-paced or high-stress encounters. Click here to read the full study report.
The second study ‘Safeguarding children involved in violence: Insights for best practice in policing’, examined how police can better safeguard and protect children involved in violence, including both children who are known/suspected to perpetrate harm and those who experience it.
It found strong in principle support within policing for safeguarding-led approaches, but significant variation in the degree to which these are practically implemented, both within and across forces.
Whilst examples of proactive safeguarding-led responses to children involved in violence exist, the inconsistent application of such approaches is resulting in unnecessary escalation and criminalisation, unrecognised vulnerability and need and consequent missed opportunities for protective intervention. This is particularly observable in frontline practice, for Minoritised ethnicities and those with SEND and for children known or suspected to be causing harm.
The study identifies ten principles of best practice for safeguarding children affected by violence, including approaches that are child-centred, trauma-informed, anti-discriminatory and preventative. Click here to read the full study report.
YEF has also drawn on the findings of the two studies to produce practice guidance for senior police leaders on reducing children’s involvement in violence.
Professor Debra Allnock, from the University of Bedfordshire, said: “Children and young people are clear about what they need from policing. They want to be treated fairly and respectfully, to understand what is happening, to feel safe and to know their voices genuinely matter.
“Good intentions are not enough. Frontline officers need to be supported by systems that ensure child-centred and safeguarding-led approaches become the norm, regardless of a child’s identity, circumstances or where they live.”
The findings come as national policing policy places increasing emphasis on child-centred and safeguarding-led approaches. The National Police Chiefs’ Council’s Children and Young Persons Policing Strategy 2024–27 and Children and Young Persons Policing Charter 2025 set out a national framework focused on children’s rights, needs and perspectives.
Professor Helen Beckett from the University of Lancashire added: “The examples of proactive safeguarding-led and child-centred policing observed in these studies are really welcome developments, that demonstrate both the feasibility and benefits of such approaches.
“However, we urgently need more consistent implementation of such approaches, both across and within forces so that every child – irrespective of the nature of their engagement or the officer or force they engage with – receives a response that protects, understands and supports them. We hope that the findings of these studies – and the practice frameworks that result from them – offer a blueprint for practically progressing this.”
