Children in care more likely to be convicted of crime
● CHILDREN in care in Halton are more likely to be convicted of a crime then other youngsters in the borough, a study has found.
Analysis of Government figures has revealed that eight per cent of children in care in Runcorn and Widnes were convicted or cautioned for a crime in one year.
By comparison, one per cent of all children in the borough were proven to have committed an offence over the course of 12 months.
Charities argue that the higher conviction rate for children in care does not mean that these children are more likely to actually commit a crime – they are just more likely to be reported to police.
A total of nine children who were looked after by Halton Borough Council were punished for an offence in 2016-17.
That means 8% of children in the area looked after by the council for at least 12 months and aged 10 or older were convicted or cautioned.
Meanwhile 788 children in Runcorn and Widnes were proven to have offended in 2015-16 – the latest year available – meaning just one per cent of all 10 to 17-year-olds had committed a crime.
Elsewhere a total of 26 children looked after by Liverpool City Council were punished for an offence in 2016-17.
Five per cent of children in the city who were looked after by the council for at least 12 months and aged 10 or older were convicted or cautioned for a crime.
Meanwhile, 686 children in Liverpool were proven to have offended in 2015-16 meaning just 2% of all 10 to 17-year-olds had committed a crime.
However, that figure includes all offenders, not just those who were convicted, warned or reprimanded, so it’s likely that the disparity is even bigger.
Meanwhile, the gap seen in other parts of Merseyside is even wider than the one seen in Liverpool itself.
In St Helens, for example, seven per cent of children in care were convicted of or cautioned for a crime, while just 2% of all children were proven to have committed an offence.
In Sefton the figure is 4% for children in care and just one per cent for all children.
Beth Murray, director of Catch22 – a national charity that works with care leavers and young offenders – said: “Children in care in Liverpool are not twice as likely to commit a crime, but may be twice as likely to be reported for one.
“A child who breaks a window in their home might expect to be grounded.
“A child in a children’s home could see this reported to the police as damage to property.
“Once a child is on the police radar, any further incidents are dealt with more severely.
“The key to stopping this cycle is a close focus on ‘corporate parenting’.
She added: “Local authorities must think more like parents.”