Using linked administrative data from the Department for Education and the Ministry of Justice, this research project shows:
- Children in the care system are 2-4 times more likely than other children to have a criminal caution or conviction.
- The likelihood of having a criminal caution or conviction increases with the level of social work intervention, from referral only, to child in need, to child protection plan, to child looked after.
- Girls in the care system experience a particularly high risk for criminal cautions and convictions than girls outside of the care system.
- Children with care system involvement living in some local authorities were up to three times more likely to have a criminal caution or conviction than children living in other local authorities.
To help others understand how their local authority may be performing, the research team developed a data dashboard to allow anyone to explore the local authority differences across England.