NSPCC response – Criminal Care: Children’s homes are criminalising children

Commenting on a report by the Howard League for Penal Reform, which concludes children in care homes are being ‘criminalised’ at high rates, an NSPCC Cymru / Wales spokesman said:

“All children in care deserve a safe and stable environment with the same opportunities as their peers. Early experiences will inevitably have a significant impact on a child’s development and this research is extremely worrying.

“We know that children in care are four times more likely to have a mental health difficulty and less likely than their peers to do well at school. Higher rates of contact with the criminal justice system or greater experience of crime will do nothing to improve that.

“Children in care are a particularly vulnerable group and in the past there’s been an assumption that they are a problem, without enough professional curiosity to look at the reasons behind behaviour.”