Safeguarding First
Child Rights and Welfare Submissions for Criminal Practitioners
Children in contact with the criminal justice system are first and foremost children, entitled to safeguarding, protection and welfare at every stage of the process. Yet too often, criminal processes prioritise investigation and prosecution over a child’s safety, wellbeing and rights — with serious and lasting consequences.
This essential guide supports criminal practitioners representing children by explaining how safeguarding and welfare law intersects with criminal law, and how to use that framework to advocate effectively for children across police, prosecution, court and custodial settings.
Produced by the Youth Justice Legal Centre, the guide equips practitioners with the legal tools to challenge punitive approaches, insist on child‑centred decision‑making and ensure that safeguarding duties are not overlooked or overridden by criminal justice responses.
What this guide covers:
- The meaning of safeguarding and welfare and why these duties apply to all children at all times
- The statutory duties owed to children by public bodies, including police, prosecutors, schools and courts
- The specific welfare responsibilities of criminal defence lawyers representing children
- How to make effective safeguarding‑based submissions grounded in:
- The Children Act 1989 and Children Act 2004
- The Children and Young Persons Act 1933
- The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)
- The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)
- Safeguarding and welfare duties owed to children at the police station, including arrest, detention and interview
- How to challenge harmful police practices using welfare law and child‑centred policing guidance
- The welfare and safeguarding duties owed by the Crown Prosecution Service, including public interest decision‑making
- Safeguarding responses to criminal and sexual exploitation, including county lines and trafficking
- The dangers of adultifying children and how adultification undermines safeguarding
- Welfare considerations for courts at bail, remand, trial and sentencing
- The rights and protections owed to remanded or sentenced children, including looked‑after status
- Special considerations for children placed in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland
The guide draws on current legislation, statutory guidance, case law and learning from safeguarding reviews, including high‑profile failures, to demonstrate how criminal practitioners can and should place safeguarding first in every case involving a child.
Who this guide is for:
- Criminal defence lawyers representing children
- Youth Justice Service practitioners
- Prosecutors and judges
- Police custody practitioners and appropriate adults
- Anyone advocating for child‑centred justice and rights‑based practice
If you represent children in the criminal justice system, this guide provides the legal authority, practical strategies and child‑rights framework needed to ensure that welfare is not an afterthought — but a central pillar of effective advocacy.
Download now for authoritative guidance on safeguarding, child rights and welfare‑focused criminal representation.