The arrest of a parent can have a significant traumatic impact on children, including shock, immense fear, anxiety, or anger toward arresting officers. In recent years, an emphasis has been placed on examining the effects of these events on children and the ways in which law enforcement can provide them with assistance—but clear guidance for law enforcement agencies had not yet been made widely available. In 2013, Deputy Attorney General James Cole announced a partnership between the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to address this issue. The culmination of this three-year initiative is the Safeguarding Children of Arrested Parents Toolkit for Law Enforcement. Produced by the IACP this toolkit includes all the resources created during the project to help law enforcement agencies and officers reduce the potential trauma experienced by children who have parents that become involved in the criminal justice system.

Research clearly indicates that events, such as the arrest of a parent, can and often do have a negative impact on a child’s immediate and long-term emotional, mental, social, and physical health.¹ Some of the negative outcomes these children may potentially experience (both as children and adults) because of parental arrests include cognitive impairment, depression, illegal drug use, domestic violence and other criminal activities, early onset sexual activity, heart disease, and suicide.² In addition, later problems with authority figures in general and law enforcement in particular can arise if officers or other service providers do not take the time to address the needs of the child.

Helping to prevent or minimize a child’s exposure to potentially traumatic events is an operationally sound law enforcement strategy to promote public safety and reduce the likelihood of future misconduct, criminal behavior, and victimization. It is also consistent with law enforcement’s community service and assistance function and is a direct component of principles of community policing, problem-solving, and conflict resolution. Unfortunately, many, if not most, law enforcement agencies did not have policies, procedures, or training that specifically addressed actions to take to reduce and prevent this trauma. These resources are now available through the Safeguarding Children of Arrested Parents toolkit.

The tools are based on the Safeguarding Children of Arrested Parents Model Policy—a publication that identifies policies and procedures law enforcement can implement to help mitigate the potential trauma to children, whether or not they are present, during the arrest of a parent.

The toolkit includes the following resources:

• A roll-call training video that introduces the model policy to law enforcement agencies. The video provides an introduction and overview of the issue and discusses the scope of the problem, as well as the challenges faced by responding officers. It also provides guidelines for implementing the model policy during pre-arrest, arrest, booking, documentation, and follow-up to ensure children of arrested parents are safeguarded;
• Two training keys that can be used in roll-call or in-service training. These concise documents include an overview of the topic and discussion questions;
• A self-paced, interactive, online training designed to educate front-line officers in best practices for ensuring children’s safety and well-being throughout the parental arrest process;
• An archived online webinar series that focuses on various topics related to safeguarding children of arrested parents and features moderated discussions from subject matter experts across the United States. The following topics are included:
  • Protecting Children of Arrested Parents: Using a Trauma-Informed Approach
  • Safeguarding Children of Arrested Parents during Investigative and Tactical Operations
  • Collaborating with Community Partners to Safeguard Children of Arrested Parents
  • Developing a Policy to Protect Children of Arrested Parents
  • Preparing to Launch: Q & A on Implementing Parental Arrest Policies to Safeguard Children
  • Parental Arrest Policies and Protecting Children: Training Your Department;
• A Safeguarding Children of Arrested Parents Executive Briefing training curriculum that includes a facilitator guide and a 15-minute classroom PowerPoint presentation;
• A Safeguarding Children of Arrested Parents Line Officer training curriculum that includes a facilitator guide, PowerPoint presentation, and videos for 1.5 hours of classroom instruction;
• An article in Police Chief magazine (January 2015) titled “Protecting Children of Arrested Parents: Steps for Developing and Implementing an Effective Policy,” which provides practical tips and strategies from the model policy;
• An implementation guide for law enforcement executives, to accompany the model policy titled Implementing a Parental Arrest Policy to Safeguard Children: A Guide for Police Executives;
• A “Safeguarding Children of Arrested Parents” tip sheet providing summary information, as well as quick statistics and tips for officers; and
• A “Safeguarding Children at the Time of Parental Arrest Law Enforcement Pre-arrest/Arrest” checklist for front-line officers to use in preparation of parental arrest or to use onsite during a parental arrest.
  

The Safeguarding Children of Arrested Parents Toolkit for Law Enforcement can be accessed at www.theIACP.org/cap.

For more information on IACP’s work to safeguard children of arrested parents, contact iacpyouth@theIACP.org or visit the project webpage at www.theIACP.org/cap. For information on other law enforcement programs, resources, and services for youth, visit IACP’s Youth Focused Policing Resource Center at www.IACPyouth.org.

 Notes:

¹Robert L. Listenbee, Jr., et al., Report of the Attorney General’s National Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence (Defending Childhood Initiative, 2012), 29–35, http://www.justice.gov/defendingchildhood/cev-rpt-full.pdf.

²Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “About the CDC-Kaiser ACE Study,” Major Findings, http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/acestudy/about.html