The criminal law and child neglect: - Action for Children

ConclusionChild neglect is the most common formof child abuse in the UK. It causes bothphysical and psychological harm, andcan have life-long and life-threateningeffects upon children and young people.If unchecked in a particular case, it alsorisks escalation into very serious physicalharm and even death as recent high profilecases such as Connolly and Barker(‘Baby P’) tragically illustrated.Tackling the issue of child maltreatmentrequires not just effective interventions atlocal level and successful inter-agencyworking, but also that we get the frameworkstatutory regulation and guidance right, withcivil and criminal law that is clear, succinctand helpful to those charged with protectingchildren. To that end, section 1 of theChildren and Young Persons Act 1933 standsout as out-dated and indisputably unhelpful.The proposed alternative offence of childmaltreatment would recognise the full rangeof harm done to children who are neglected.It would replace the numerous antiquatedand obscure terms and definitions thatcurrently exist, and it would also align thecriminal law with the current civil law, offeringthe opportunity for clear, unified and efficientevidence collection and decision-makingacross the two jurisdictions. We stressthat our first and primary objective is tohelp families, and that we regard criminalprosecution as a last resort where otherinterventions have failed, or are likely to befutile. We as an independent Advisory Groupsubmit this carefully considered proposal tolawmakers for England and Wales.22.