There are an estimated 200,000 children affected by parental imprisonment each year and hundreds more will suffer the impact of a parents' involvement with the police and go through courts processes. It is important that the police force and courts staff have an awareness of how to help families maintain ties as a means to reducing reoffending and intergenerational offending as well as for the wellbeing of innocent children and families.
NICCO’s briefings for Police and Court Professionals provide a poster, key statistics and recommendations around the wellbeing of offenders' children and support for professionals.
The following list provides links to key research, great practice models, important policy and helpful resources which are specific to helping you support offenders and their children and families.
Resources for the police force and courts based professionals
There are many more practical, informative and interactive resources for professionals at all levels within the police and courts such as toolkits for how to work with children and families in your setting, videos for raising awareness around the impact of the Criminal Justice System (CJS) on families, media pieces which highlight the importance of this type of work and much more listed on NICCO. We feature a few in the list below.
Quality Statements & Toolkit - this comprehensive and easy-to-use resource enables multi-agency professionals to assess and develop their practice with children of offenders. Informed by research, it includes many good practice examples and a work plan template to set action points for your service.
Supporting children and families affected by a family member’s offending – A Practitioner’s Guide – An accessible and comprehensive Guide for multi-agency frontline practitioners including tools, resource lists and practice tips to support effective community-based interventions with offenders’ children and families.
SCIE- E-learning - these 3 interactive tools help all professionals gain an understanding of the impacts of an offenders journey through CJS on their children and family.
It’s no holiday - this film can be used for awareness raising. It uses children's voices to explore their experiences of a close family member's arrest, trial, imprisonment, visiting and release.
COPING in the Police Force - this briefing outlines key research and policy for police aimed at encouraging children of offenders' mental wellbeing.
Supporting Prisoners’ Families- What Can Magistrates Do? and Supporting Prisoners' Families - What Can the Police Do? - short leaflets informing police and magistrates how they can support offenders' children and families.
Resources for children, young people, carers and families
There are many more age-appropriate resources for children, parents and other family members to be used independently or with a professional which offer information around the practical and emotional aspects of a loved one's arrest, trial and sentencing listed on NICCO. We feature a few in the list below.
For Children and Young People
Child's Journey Worksheets - are free, printable tools which allow children to communicate thoughts and feelings about a loved one being involved with the police and courts.
Finding Dad - is a short illustrated book aimed at 8-11 year olds which tells the story of James who is looking for his Dad after he is taken away by the police.
Parents, Carers and other family members
Court to Custody - this descriptive leaflet for defendants and their families details the CJS processes and their impacts from arrest to prison reception.
National Offenders' Families helpline - Free and confidential information service providing basic advice, emotional support, and signposting to local services. Their website includes simple information sheets to print for offenders' families on all issues relating to a loved one's involvement with the criminal justice system.
Background information - Policy and Research
There is much research and policy concerning offenders' children and families around all aspects of the offender journey, for example reducing reoffending, intergenerational offending, specific multiagency service evaluations, policy guidelines, transforming rehabilitation, impact on children and much more listed on NICCO. We feature a few below.
Children of Offenders Review - this pivotal NOMS and DfES report notes the gaps in data collection and service provision for children of offenders and gives clear policy recommendations.
Mitigating Motherhood: A study of the impact of motherhood on sentencing decisions in England and Wales - New research from an ex-barrister enlightens links between female offenders with children and sentencing.
Arresting development? - Key research utilised in pan European COPING study which looks at police practices and impact on children and families.
Collateral Damage - A short research piece into the effects of witnessing a home raid on children.
Examples of Practice
There are more multiagency frameworks and practice models about other CJS work listed on NICCO.
Training
Hidden Sentence Training - This has been developed by Action for Prisoners’ Families for multi-agency professionals, and gives an overview of issues which prisoners’ families routinely face. See a list of all training featured on NICCO, or find training in your local area by using NICCO’s search by region function on the home page.
