Young people who have encountered the police and have been victims of crime have said they lack trust in the system and often feel unheard.
Sky News listened in as sixth-form students at one London school were visited by a minister ahead of the government announcing it was launching a consultation to give young people a voice in the justice system.
Teenagers at All Saints School in Stepney, east London, told minister for victims and tackling violence against women and girls Alex Davies-Jones how their experiences contributed to a wider culture of fear and reduced trust in the system designed to protect them.
One student, who Sky News is not naming due to his age, said he was “stopped and searched on his way to school when he was just 13-years-old”.
He told the minister there was no clear explanation given and described the encounter as distressing, adding that officers “did not contact his parents”.
Another said: “Anyone can be attacked at any moment, especially at night. People cover up (using balaclavas) and you don’t really know their identity, so you have to be wary.”
A third told how her sister’s phone was stolen in a crowded shop and when she reported it, the police said there was “not much they could do”. It left her feeling she had little confidence the police could help.
One young person at the school said a shift in culture was required. He said: “There needs to be more of a clamp down on the idea of the stigma of snitching.
“Many young people don’t come forward because there’s this dichotomy between police and young people, and you’re like a police officer if you’re reporting someone to keep the community safe.”
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What’s the government doing about it?
In launching its consultation on the Victims’ Code, the government is admitting many children and young people don’t know where to turn following crimes such as domestic abuse and sexual violence as they get lost in the complexities of the criminal justice system.
It says the proposals in the Victims’ Code would mean:
• More direct contact with police and probation officers alongside parents, for those aged 12 and up
• Ensuring young people have a stronger feeling of safety while going through the justice system
• Measures to encourage all victims to see their case all the way through to trial and beyond
• An Understand Your Rights campaign across England and Wales to ensure young people can see “the Victims’ Code is there for every victim, whatever the crime”
The minister in charge of victims had to admit, after listening to the young people in Stepney, that the government had a “big job” in front of it.
Ms Davies-Jones told Sky News: “What we heard today from the young people, their lived experience of crime was truly quite shocking.
“They weren’t believed. They were targeted themselves as potential criminals rather than victims and witnesses. And we have a big job to do as a new government coming in to ensure that we rebuild that criminal justice system, that we rebuild trust in our organisations again, whether that’s the police.
“Just because you’re a child, it doesn’t diminish anything that’s happened to you. You shouldn’t be patronised or talked down to. You treat them like a victim or a witness, regardless of their age.”
She said rebuilding trust in the criminal justice system, including the police, prosecutors and courts, would be a major task for the government.
Other proposed improvements to the Victims’ Code include new “fundamental principles” and training for agencies across the justice system to deliver a higher standard of communication with victims.
And the government says compliance with the Victims’ Code would be enshrined in law and, once in operation, the victims’ commissioner would be given enhanced power to hold agencies to account should they fall short of the code’s standards without good reason.
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‘Child victims need to be listened to’
The Children’s Commissioner for England, Rachel de Souza welcomed the consultation, saying it could strengthen children’s rights within the justice system.
She said: “Too many children tell me the justice system can be bewildering or even traumatising. Child victims need to know their rights, to be listened to, to be treated with dignity and care, and to get the support they are entitled to.
“This updated Victims’ Code sets out these rights much more clearly and provides a strong set of principles for the professionals who interact with child victims to follow, recognising they have different needs and different circumstances to adults.
“I hope this will drive important change to make sure those rights are realised in practice.”
