Child Safety Order in United Kingdom

Definition of Child Safety Order

In accordance with the work A Dictionary of Law, this is a description of Child Safety Order : An order that enables local authorities and courts to intervene when a child under the age of 10 (who cannot be prosecuted in criminal proceedings by virtue of his age) behaves antisocially or disruptively. The order was introduced by the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 as part of a strategy to reduce youth crime and is founded on the belief that early intervention is more effective than waiting until a child is old enough to be dealt with under the youth justice system. Application for an order is made by a local authority on the grounds that the child has committed or is in danger of committing an offence, or is in breach of a local child curfew scheme, or has acted in a manner likely to cause harassment, alarm, or distress to a person not living in the same household as the child. The requirements imposed under the order are entirely a matter for the court and might include, for example, attendance at school or extracurricular activities, avoiding contact with disruptive and older children, and not visiting such areas as shopping centres unsupervised. The purpose of the requirements imposed is either to ensure that the child receives appropriate care, protection, and support and is subject to proper control, or to prevent the repetition of the kind of behaviour that led to the child safety order being made. Breach of the order may lead to the court making a *care order in respect of the child.

See also parenting order.