Will my child be in trouble?

We first and foremost recognise children as victims of their circumstance, and we do not want to criminalise, shame or disengage young people from services that can support them; we want children to have the very best start when they enter adulthood. We encourage a transparent, honest and consent-led approach as that enables professionals and care givers to make the best decisions they can to safeguard young people.

If your child is arrested or commits an offence

Depending on the circumstances and the severity of the offence, they may be given a court date by the police, or referred to Shropshire’s Joint Decision Making Panel (JDMP). This panel will give due consideration and will decide whether the matter can be dealt with using an 'out of court disposal' (OOCD) or if it will need to be referred to court.

The JDMP is run by West Mercia Youth Justice Service who will be in touch throughout the process. The focus of the service is to steer children away from criminality and re-offending, with a focus around education and intervention.

If they end up going to court, the Youth Justice Service will work with you and your child throughout. The West Mercia Youth Justice Service website contains further information about court and young people.

For children involved in exploitation, you may be informed that we'll be making a request to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). This statutory requirement has to be completed by a First Responder and overseen by the 'Single Competent Authority' (SCA), which is part of the government’s Home Office. Typically, a referred person will receive a “Reasonable Grounds” or “Conclusive Grounds” NRM which will formally recognise them as being a victim of modern slavery, offering some statutory protection. This video from the National County Lines Coordination Centre explains the NRM process and what it does.

From October 2025 NRM responsibility in Shropshire is held within the Home Office’s Devolved Decision-Making Pilot. This means that Shropshire Local Authority, West Mercia Police and the NHS will be making decisions regarding NRMs for it’s local residents. This is only a pilot at this stage, but there are ambitions for this to be rolled out throughout the UK in the coming years.

Adults are able to have NRMs as well, however, their consent is needed. Further guidance can be found on the Gov.UK website. If a child continues to be exploited but is turning 18, often we will ask them if they want an adult NRM.

Most importantly, please understand that we want to help.