SURREY Police and the county council have been praised by an independent review for their work keeping children in care out of the criminal justice system.

The ‘Keeping children in care out of trouble’ review, chaired by Lord Laming and established by the Prison Reform Trust, was launched in June 2015 to investigate the disproportionate numbers of ‘looked-after’ children in England and Wales who become involved in the criminal justice system and make recommendations for reform.

The review, published on Monday, was put together by an expert panel which looked at more than 200 written submissions and evidence from professionals, local authorities and young people across England and Wales.

In a letter to Prime Minister David Cameron summarising the report, Lord Laming highlights good practice in Surrey – where partnership working has led to a 45 per cent reduction in the number of children leaving care and becoming part of the criminal justice system over the last four years.

The review goes on to commend the “excellent joint working and co-located teams” in Surrey which helps looked after children avoid unnecessary criminalisation and recommends that the work taking place across the county is held up as an example of good practice for other areas to follow.

Gavin Stephens, the acting deputy chief constable of Surrey Police, said: “We are proud that our work with looked after children over the last five years has dramatically reduced their likelihood of becoming involved in the criminal justice system, and delighted that this good practice has been recognised in the report.

“Prevention is always better than cure, but when offences are committed our approach is focused on helping young people to face the consequences of their actions, getting the best outcome for victims and restoring any harm done. Seeking to prevent future offences is always at the forefront of our decision making.

The police chief added: “We would also like to recognise the hard work and dedication of the teams across Surrey who do this work every day. They have had to take risks in adopting this new approach, sometimes operating outside of standard practices, in order to achieve the best results for all parties.”

Some of the steps taken in Surrey to improve the response to dealing with looked after children include:

• Each police division having a dedicated Community Safety Unit which works in conjunction with a number of agencies, particularly the Youth Support Service, to help manage young people.

• A Youth Restorative Intervention scheme in which options other than a criminal charge may be considered in cases where a young person admits committing an offence.

• Surrey’s Appropriate Adult Volunteer Scheme, which provides a pool of volunteers throughout the year to give advice and support to both children and vulnerable adults in custody.

Earlier this year, Surrey Police and the county council signed a joint protocol for the provision of local authority accommodation for children charged and remaining on bail.

Linda Kemeny, Surrey County Council’s cabinet member for schools, skills and educational achievement, told The Herald: “Our programme is having a big impact in diverting young people in care away from crime and stopping them committing offences that lead to jail and Lord Laming has clearly recognised the excellent work we’re doing.”