AYJ hosts Rethinking Policing symposium

On Thursday 25th May 2023 the AYJ hosted a symposium on the policing of children, bringing together thirty AYJ members and wider stakeholders to identify good and bad policing practice, discuss failures in policy, determine solutions and develop AYJ policy positions.

As part of our policy influencing priority on Rethinking Policing, the symposium focused on examining what “child centred policing” means, aiming to identify and build consensus around where child centred policing standards aren’t embedded in practice, and where current policing policy flies in the face of a child centred approach. This included discussions about police in schools and safeguarding spaces; stop and search and strip searching; the use of force against children; and if and how police should be engaging with children.

The insights gathered during the event will help us develop a reimagined model for policing children, setting out what activities police should carry out, what powers they should hold, and what needs to change to ensure the record number of police on the streets does not lead to an increase in the criminalisation of children, racial disparities and injustices.

Thanks so much to all those who attended, shared their experiences and leant their expertise. We are also capturing youth voice and will be sharing more information about our calls for change soon.