Locked Out: a book for children with a loved one in prison
Not my crime, still my sentence: listening to children's voices
It is estimated that there are around 200,000 children with a parent in prison in England and Wales, with many more affected by the imprisonment of grandparents, siblings and other close family members.
'Hear Our Voice' was a London-based project that ran from 2016 to 2018, kindly supported by Comic Relief and the Pilgrim Trust. The initiative aimed to support children affected by familial imprisonment in three ways:
- reducing isolation through community-based support with peer support elements
- advocating on behalf of children affected by familial imprisonment so that their needs and rights are understood.
- raising awareness and improving practice within schools, the courts, and the police
As part of the project, several young people recorded and created animations of their experiences with a professional animator, which you can find on the children and young people section of our website.
Key findings
The project report, 'Hear Our Voice: Recommendations for action to safeguard children affected by the arrest and imprisonment of family members', outlines several key findings.
- The forgotten victims of crime – Although many thousands of children are affected each year, this remains a hidden scandal. Many police, magistrates and teachers are unaware of these children and the support they need. Low awareness levels translate directly into low levels of action.
- Mind the perception gap – even within the same police force, court or school, there were big differences in knowledge and also differences in what actions, if any, were required to help.
- Training and guidance – for such an important issue, there is a scarcity of training and guidance on offer for the police, magistrates and teachers. Even where they are available, few people use them or even know about them.
- Postcode lottery? More like potluck – in the absence of awareness, training and guidance, practice among the police, magistrates and schools can differ wildly. This was the case even within the same postcodes, police forces, courts and schools. There is an urgent need to standardise core practice.
- Small changes, big impact - even small, cost-neutral changes to the practice of the police, magistrates and schools would make a big difference. There’s no need for big legislative change or big spending.
