| The number of children looked after in England has risen steadily over the last eight years, with 70,440 children in care at 31 March 2016, 44 per cent of whom were female (Department for Education (DfE), 2016a). Official figures also reveal an increase in the number and proportion of older children in care, with 62 per cent of children looked after aged 10 years and over in 2016 compared with 56 per cent in 2012 (DfE, 2016a). The increases in the numbers of those both in care and over the age of criminal responsibility make debates about disrupting the care-crime connection particularly pertinent. However, whilst the care-crime connection has traditionally been neglected in research, there has arguably been a particular research silence on females in care who come into conflict with the law. The Laming review “In care, out of trouble” (Prison Reform Trust (PRT), 2016a) and the systematic review of literature to accompany it (Staines, 2016) recently highlighted that girls in care form a minority group within the criminal justice system, and as such “there is a lack of research about their experiences, needs and characteristics” (PRT, 2016a, p. 72). This situation parallels the relative neglect of all females in the justice system (cf Sharpe, 2012). Thus, a focus on the particular needs of females in care is recommended (PRT, 2016a). This paper seeks to contribute towards that effort by considering the current policy climate as well as what is known about the backgrounds of females in care and the criminal justice system. It is frustrating that there is much that we do not know in relation to having an up-to-date national picture of the offences that young women in care are convicted of, and the frequency with which this occurs. Similarly, the true extent of the criminalisation of all children in care is unknown (Howard League, 2017). Whilst our current knowledge base is limited, this paper considers some of the evidence that does exist in order to highlight some important themes, including perceptions of girls in care, as well as the experiences of women in prison. Following recent work on the general links between trauma and offending (Beyond Youth Custody (BYC), 2016), this paper calls for a trauma-informed approach (cf. Mendes et al., 2014) to supporting females in the care and criminal justice systems. |