For two years, Jim and Sam and other members of The Care Leavers Association and those we have worked with have been compiling an audio-visual set of reflections on the work we conducted between 2010 and 2020 with regard to looked after children and care leavers becoming involved with the criminal justice system. We hope these reflections will perform two useful functions:
- Act as a resource for anyone who works in the criminal justice field who wishes to understand some of the experiences of the care leavers who all too often end up in the criminal justice system. We particularly want practitioners to be able to take stock, learn lessons and move forward in trying to improve the lives and prospects of care leavers who enter the criminal justice system.
- Outline the work of The Care Leavers Association during that time. In particular, we want to commemorate and celebrate the work of Darren Coyne, who was a project worker with the CLA during that decade and who had a major positive influence through his work with us in relation to both criminal justice and access to child care records. Darren had been in care as a child and had also been in the youth justice system. His dynamism and rare abilities and qualities were central to the success of our work during that decade. You can learn more about Darren’s work with us here: Darren Coyne
Below is a short clip taken from one of our podcast interviews in which Darren’s legacy is discussed by three of the many people whose lives he touched.
[To be inserted: Darren’s Legacy: Clip]
“Darren is the one person who’s always been there throughout these last few years of my life, and he has literally just saved my life” – Aisha
Please click on each subheading below…
What have we done?
There were several landmark publications, events and initiatives during the decade from 2010 to 2020. We discuss these separately here: CLA Criminal Justice Work
For this particular, project, with have worked with a number of people whose contribution deserves to recognised by name.
From within the CLA: David Graham (CLA National Director), Dr Jim Goddard (Chair of the Board of Trustees), Sam Davey (CJS Project Worker), Bret Milner, Emmanuel Staff,
Thanks, in particular, to Sam Davey for editing of some of the audio and video clips and to Toya Dunscombe for help with making the contents accessible via the CLA website.
From outside the CLA: Becky Clarke (Senior Lecturer in Sociology, Manchester Metropolitan University), Laura, Aisha, Andi Brierley, Helen Latham, Paul Pandolfo, Clare Birtwistle.
What we are doing?
Throughout the rest of 2026 we will be issuing more of the results of this work through this website. Each month, we will be putting up fresh audio or video clips, with commentary. We aim to build a databank of our reflections and activities. We welcome feedback and discussion and plan to engage with wider audiences on the back of this work.
Our material starts with the contents of an interview that Becky Clark conducted with two women who worked with Darren during his time with the CLA. We do this in two parts. The first four clips reflect mainly on their early experiences. The following three clips, which we put up in January 2025, focus on their later experiences and their reflections on their experiences as a whole.
Podcast with Becky, Laura and Aisha
The criminalisation of girls in care and its impacts across the life course, with Dr Becky Clarke, Laura and Aisha
Here, Becky, Laura and Aisha talk about what has connected them. This was primarily through the work of Darren Coyne. They each talk about Darren’s impact and legacy, from their early meetings with him onwards.
In this extract, Laura and Aisha talk about their time in care. They talk about some of the positives and negative in the people and situations they encountered.
Here, Becky asks Laura and Aisha about the judgements about, and expectations of, teenage girls that they experienced.
Here, both Laura and Aisha talk about their experiences with the police and the wider legal system, both before and while they were in care.
[insert audio]
Becky, Laura and Aisha, Part Five: The Paper Self
Laura and Aisha discuss how their ‘paper selves’ – the versions of them written in files and elsewhere by staff members – influenced their behaviour and the perceptions about them from others. They explain how this can misrepresent their identity and fuel harmful environments.
[insert audio]
Becky, Laura & Aisha Part 5: A Woman’s Prison Journey as a Care Leaver
Laura and Aisha talk about their experiences of being in prison and the importance of lived experience peer support and safe spaces to empower the voices and progress of care-experienced people whilst they are caught up in the criminal justice system.
[Insert audio]
Becky, Laura & Aisha Part 6: Message to My Younger Self
Laura and Aisha offer words of wisdom to other young people who are going through similar experiences to those discussed in this series, touching on parenthood and the importance of moving forward.
[insert audio]
All those involved in this interview knew Darren Coyne well and his influence is clear throughout. The stories shared are complex, very honest, and – at times – difficult to hear, but what emerges is a reminder that care can be done differently.
In what follows, Laura and Aisha discuss both Foster Care and Residential Care by local authorities, along with how their time in each has shaped their life course. They touch on how the constant moves, inconsistent support and lack of emotional care left them feeling confused and alone. Navigating adolescence is difficult at the best of times; Laura and Aisha’s stories reveal how their journeys as adolescents in care were unsupported, criminalised and unstable. Actions that might be informally handled within a family environment – arguments, breaking things, coming home late, etc. – can quickly lead to police involvement, arrests, and lasting records if the occur within the care system. Over time, this process builds a pathway where care experience and contact with the justice system become tightly linked; not because of who someone is, but because of how systems respond to them.
The idea of the ‘paper self’ captures this powerfully. Decisions made about children in care are often made based on written records that highlight risk and behaviour without context, stripping away the person behind them. These records can follow someone into new placements, into courtrooms, and into prison; shaping how others see them before they’ve even spoken. Gender also plays a role, and the interview explains how girls in care are often judged more harshly – labelled, sexualised, or blamed in ways that overlook their vulnerability – while real risks, such as exploitation, can be minimised or ignored. This contradiction leaves many girls and young women feeling both over-scrutinised and under-protected.
Throughout the topics discussed, the negative impact of the care system on people’s sense of safety, identity and belonging are highlighted. Yet even within these stories, there are flashes of kindness, hope, and, crucially, the impact of being listened to, believed, and supported – things every young person deserves. Perhaps the most important message is this: care experience does not define a person’s future. People can, and do, grow beyond the systems that failed them. They build families, create change, and use their experiences to support others. The following clips from the interview capture that sentiment perfectly.
All those involved in this interview knew Darren Coyne well and his influence is clear throughout. The stories shared are complex, very honest, and – at times – difficult to hear, but what emerges is a reminder that care can be done differently.
In what follows, Laura and Aisha discuss both Foster Care and Residential Care by local authorities, along with how their time in each has shaped their life course. They touch on how the constant moves, inconsistent support and lack of emotional care left them feeling confused and alone. Navigating adolescence is difficult at the best of times; Laura and Aisha’s stories reveal how their journeys as adolescents in care were unsupported, criminalised and unstable. Actions that might be informally handled within a family environment – arguments, breaking things, coming home late, etc. – can quickly lead to police involvement, arrests, and lasting records if the occur within the care system. Over time, this process builds a pathway where care experience and contact with the justice system become tightly linked; not because of who someone is, but because of how systems respond to them.
The idea of the ‘paper self’ captures this powerfully. Decisions made about children in care are often made based on written records that highlight risk and behaviour without context, stripping away the person behind them. These records can follow someone into new placements, into courtrooms, and into prison; shaping how others see them before they’ve even spoken. Gender also plays a role, and the interview explains how girls in care are often judged more harshly – labelled, sexualised, or blamed in ways that overlook their vulnerability – while real risks, such as exploitation, can be minimised or ignored. This contradiction leaves many girls and young women feeling both over-scrutinised and under-protected.
Throughout the topics discussed, the negative impact of the care system on people’s sense of safety, identity and belonging are highlighted. Yet even within these stories, there are flashes of kindness, hope, and, crucially, the impact of being listened to, believed, and supported – things every young person deserves. Perhaps the most important message is this: care experience does not define a person’s future. People can, and do, grow beyond the systems that failed them. They build families, create change, and use their experiences to support others. The following clips from the interview capture that sentiment perfectly. [insert full transcript]