Thanks to National Lottery players, Just for Kids Law has received more than £2 million of pivotal funding over five years from The National Lottery Community Fund. The funding will be used in partnership with Children’s Legal Centre Wales to empower children to campaign for change in how the police treat children across England and Wales.
Children with lived experience of policing will have the opportunity to develop life-changing confidence and skills, speak truth to power and make a real difference to how the police interact with children.
Together, we plan to recruit 30 children and young people from across England and Wales to take part in the campaign. Through training days and mentoring, we’ll help participants build confidence and learn more about children's rights and campaigning. We’ll also run workshops to help them better understand decision-making structures, and how they can speak out to create positive change.
With these newly developed skills, the campaigners will choose the most pressing policing issues they want to campaign on – engaging with ministers in Wales and Westminster, the National Police Chiefs' Council, senior police leaders, and police oversight bodies.
This project is vital because – far too often – children’s rights are being violated. From Taser use* and stop and search, to strip-searching and being held in custody overnight, too many children are left traumatised by their interactions with the police. The children we support are among the most vulnerable and marginalised, and these experiences only cause further harm to their physical and mental health.
From April 2024 to March 2025, in England and Wales, police used Tasers* against children 2,906 times, including 54 discharges. 25,184 children were held overnight in police detention, and there were 3,376 strip searches of children in police custody. It’s also deeply worrying that Black, Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children continue to be overrepresented in use of police powers.
The Child Justice Changemakers project will empower participants who’ve had these experiences to transform policing by directly influencing policy and practice.
The project has the potential to be a life-changing experience – giving participants valuable transferrable skills, new perspectives, and the opportunity to have their voices heard and acted upon.
Email us to learn more about our Child Justice Changemakers campaign
*Taser use is categorised across six types of uses.
