Child Safety Orders

There are children who commit offences that can be described as criminal but unfortunately given those children's ages they can not be prosecuted through the legal system. Likewise also in the eyes of the law these children are not deemed to be responsible enough for their own actions to be charged with these offences so the government - in conjunction with local authorities and the police - decided to combat this problem by introducing Child Safety Orders (CSOs).

What is a Child Safety Order?

A Child Safety Order (CSO) can best be described as an Anti-Social Behaviour Order (ASBO) for children of the age of ten and under. It is difficult to comprehend that children of such ages would engage in criminal activities or behaviour that would make them known to the police but unfortunately that is the case.

The Child Safety Order (CSO) is put into place when there are no other means available of trying to ensure the cessation of any behaviour considered to be criminal by a child.

Why are Child Safety Orders Granted?

A Child Safety Order (CSO) will be granted if there is sufficient concern as to the behaviour of a child in the care of his or her family. If there is reason to suspect that the child's behaviour is a direct result of problems within the family unit a CSO may be issued by the Family Proceedings Court in order to allow for the intervention and supervision of either local authority and/or Youth Offending Teams.

As we have already mentioned the implementation of a Child Safety Order (CSO) is the equivalent to an Anti-Social Behaviour Order and as such carries with it similar terms and conditions.

For example under the terms of a Child Safety Order the child governed by it may not:

• Be seen to be in a particular area without relevant adult supervision
• Be outside the family home after a designated time - reminiscent of a curfew
• Be seen to be in the company of other children considered to be influential to the child
• Be absent from school without good reason or prior knowledge of both school and parents

Of course depending on the nature of the child's behaviour and the reasons behind the implementation of the Child Safety Order (CSO) there may be other conditions entered into. The aforementioned are some of the most common.

What Happens if a Child Safety Order is Breached?

Unfortunately as the child under the supervision of a Child Safety Order (CSO) is not of prosecutable age he or she is not liable to any criminal proceedings if they break the conditions of the CSO. However given specific circumstances the local authority involved may pursue - in conjunction with the court - a Parenting Order which in turn makes the parents responsible for the behaviour of the child.

The idea of a Parenting Order is to encourage the child's parents to make sure that he or she abides by the conditions laid down and failure to do so may result in the handing down of a fine which can be a minimum of £1000. In certain circumstances which are indicative of particular unruly behaviour both a Child Safety Order (CSO) and Parenting Order may be implemented as a means of combating behaviour that constitutes anti-social and criminal behaviour.

For further information you should contact your local authority, Community police officer or Youth Offending Team.