Childhood criminal records have been in the news lately – last week, Baroness Casey released a damning audit on the justice response to the child victims of grooming gangs. These young girls were not only exploited and abused by the perpetrators but repeatedly let down by the law: many were convicted for child prostitution. Baroness Casey recommended that these victims should have their convictions disregarded – and their criminal records expunged.

This would be a welcome and long overdue step forward for the victims and those who have fought for them. But what if we took this review one step further and took a look at all criminal records obtained by individuals when they were just children?

The child grooming gang cases are extreme, yes, but the damage done by childhood criminalisation extends far beyond them. As Baroness Casey pointed out, many “might be prevented from getting jobs and have to live with the constant reminder and often shame of having to explain their criminal record.” 

Think back to your own childhood. Did you ever make a careless, impulsive decision? Act out in fear or anger? The rational part of the brain, the frontal lobe, does not fully develop until around age 25. Childhood trauma can also slow down this development even further. So why are we treating children in the criminal justice system in a manner barely discernible from the way we treat fully grown adults? Especially when research on children in the criminal justice system overwhelmingly concludes that the majority of them have been victims of childhood abuse.

Take the example of ‘Miriam’ (not her real name), who recently wrote to us at the FairChecks campaign for criminal records reform, to share her experience of the criminal justice system as a child.

As a teenager, Miriam lived in a violent home. Despite being a “good girl by most people’s standards – I didn’t even have a boyfriend”, Miriam’s mother feared she would get into trouble and bring shame upon the family. Her mother urged her father to beat her regularly – which he did – and Miriam became the unlucky scapegoat for her parent’s failing marriage.

One day, at 17 and in a state of deep upset, Miriam spontaneously decided to go on a huge shoplifting spree at a department store. She left with armfuls of clothing, consciously thinking ‘this will show you, Mum and Dad!’ She was duly caught and taken to a detention center for the weekend. 

But here’s the key detail – Miriam lived in Canada. In Canada, most offences committed by a child under 18 won’t be criminalised and carried into adulthood. Instead, when Miriam appeared in the juvenile court the following Monday, the judge sentenced her to see a social worker. The social worker was kind and supportive, and after a few months Miriam was discharged. She never stole anything again.

She eventually escaped her abusive home and moved abroad to begin a new life. She got a PhD, trained as a social worker, and had a successful career as an academic teaching social workers. She writes to us now in her eighties, grateful for the second chance the Canadian justice system offered her and the life she has been able to lead.

“If the law in my country had been different,” she said, “my life could have been ruined. With a criminal record, I probably wouldn’t have gotten the jobs that prepared me for social work, been accepted for professional training, or been able to become an academic.”

If Miriam had committed the same offence in England, her criminal record for a simple shoplifting offence could have followed her around for 5 and a half years on standard and enhanced DBS checks – which collectively make up the vast majority of DBS checks in England and Wales. If she had been just a few weeks older, it might have been double that. This lingering reminder would have no doubt been a huge blocker for being accepted into further education and employment. 

In 2024, 41,286 DBS checks revealed childhood convictions – 2,152 of which were, in fact, for theft offences. But what about children whose offences are more serious than shoplifting? A prison sentence as a teenager results in a criminal record that will follow them around for the rest of their lives – in 2024, DBS checks revealed 4896 childhood convictions that were given in 1984 or earlier! Is this really the best way to deal with crimes committed by our youngest and most vulnerable members of society?

As Miriam aptly put it: “A law that criminalises children is unjust, punitive, and wasteful of young lives.”

At FairChecks, we believe it’s time to fix this broken system. Alongside Frome and East Somerset MP Anna Sabine, we’ve submitted a probing amendment to the Crime and Policing bill. The amendment calls for a review of how childhood convictions and cautions are handled – including which convictions remain visible on standard and enhanced checks after five and a half years.

We know what needs to change – now we need the political will to make it happen. 

Join FairChecks and help us fight for a fairer system today – fairchecks.org.uk.