From punishment to protection: rethinking responses to Child Criminal Exploitation

Child Criminal Exploitation affects some of our most vulnerable children. As awareness grows, so too does recognition that traditional responses have too often punished children instead of protecting them. In this blog post, Lesley Gordon, Director of Criminal Exploitation UK at Action for Children, reflects on what needs to change, why it matters, and how emerging approaches are helping systems respond more effectively.

In 2024, Action for Children published the powerful findings of the Jay Review of Criminally Exploited Children. It exposed how too many exploited children across the UK were being criminalised rather than safeguarded. The Review called for several key actions:

• consistent and clear definitions regarding criminal exploitation of children.
• adopting an approach which prioritises welfare first before criminalising children.
• and delivering stronger national leadership on the matter.

Since its publication, stakeholders across local government, national government, youth justice agencies, third sector partners and those affected by exploitation having been working to generate coordinated action on these priorities.

Reframing exploitation as abuse

In Scotland, a key piece of work to reshape how systems respond to the needs of criminally exploited children has been the development of a new Criminal Exploitation of Children Framework for Practice. This work has been led by Action for Children, in partnership with the Children and Young People’s Centre for Justice (CYCJ).

The framework is for practitioners across social work, services and agencies working with children and young people to help them identify, support, and protect children at risk of or experiencing criminal exploitation. It aims to embed the priorities outlined in the Jay Review into practice. At its heart is a simple truth, that children who are exploited are victims of complex abuse. They should not and must not be viewed as ‘young people making bad choices’.

The framework has been designed with a strong understanding that exploitation often happens beyond the home, in public spaces, peer groups and organised networks, and that responses to exploitation must focus on the contexts in which harm occurs. This is known as contextual safeguarding.

It builds on the principle that children are not offenders. In many cases their involvement in serious offences, such as violence or being uncooperative with authorities, is a direct result of serious abuse and coercion. Yet in these cases current legislation in Scotland does not offer adequate legal tools to protect a child from further harm or to manage the risks they pose to themselves or others.

Within that gap it is positive that the definition of criminal exploitation offered in the framework is already now informing some statutory decision-making processes around children’s lives. Crucially helping to ensure children receive protection not punishment.

By creating these clearer routes for children to be safeguarded by legal protection, increasing awareness and keeping the focus firmly on those who exploit, meaningful steps are being taken to tackle the criminal exploitation of children.

Local government pilots using the framework for practice

The framework is now being piloted across several councils to help build a new approach putting children’s rights and wellbeing at its heart.

In practical terms social workers and practitioners are using shared tools and language to assess harm, consider contextual safeguarding, and provide informed recommendations during Children’s Hearings. It is also guiding the appropriate use of statutory measures to ensure restrictions on children are proportionate, trauma-informed and focused on disrupting exploiters.

Since using the framework, pilot councils have reported it has helped embed a consistent welfare first approach. That means strengthening protection, improving decision making and safeguarding children to break the cycles of exploitation.

It has led to opportunities such as designing new local pathways, strengthen referral systems, and delivering training so professionals can recognise exploitation early and respond with confidence and compassion.

By providing practitioners with clear indicators of risk and a structured screening tool, the framework actively helps practitioners identify vulnerabilities early and act before harm escalates. It also supports referrals to the Children's Reporter - the independent official in Scotland who decides whether a child should receive compulsory help or protection through the Children’s Hearings system - which offers access to ongoing legal protections. This approach acknowledges that removing risk requires focused support time and concerted effort to bring about lasting change.

The ongoing journey to influence system change

Since founding our first specialist criminal exploitation intervention service in 2012, we have been clear about the need for further high-level policy and systems change as well as on the ground practical support.

For over a decade, we have built a specialist workforce, a detailed understanding of child criminal exploitation, and developed a strong basis of evidence about the impact of exploitation and why existing protections leave gaps.

Using this our policy and campaigns teams have turn children’s experiences into evidence-based recommendations to influence decision-makers and challenge a system often failing children and young people. That includes alongside others trying to influence changes to the national frameworks in Scotland like the Human Trafficking and Exploitation Strategy, National Risk Framework, and Youth Justice Standards.

By working with police agencies such as the UK National County Lines Coordination Centre (county lines is a violent model of drug supply and a specific form of child criminal exploitation) we have also been able to help shape practice to reduce criminalisation and strengthen protection.

It can take time to secure larger-scale and high-level shifts in thinking, policy and practice, however, momentum is clearly building. There is growing evidence that work to ensure criminally exploited children are protected - rather than punished - is delivering real progress in the right direction.

This is more than a programme. It is a commitment to rebuild trust, shift systems, and fight for every child’s right to safety. Together, this work ensures children are protected today while pushing for the systemic reforms needed to safeguard them tomorrow.

The views expressed in this blog post are those of the author/s and may not represent the views or opinions of CELCIS or our funders.

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