Children with emotional, behavioral problems have twice the risk for later police contact

The link between mental illness and increased risk for contact with the criminal justice system in adulthood and adolescence extends to early childhood, according to results of a cohort study published in JAMA Network Open.

“Individuals with mental illness are known to be at an increased risk of police contact, both as a potential offender and as a survivor of crime, at least during adolescence and adulthood,” Kimberlie Dean, MBBS, PhD, of the School of Psychiatry at the University of New South Wales in Australia, and colleagues wrote. “The extent to which emerging mental health problems might predispose young children to early police contact has not yet been systematically examined, despite the importance of developing evidence-informed early identification and intervention strategies, including incorporating trauma-informed approaches to system and service responses.”

The researchers aimed to determine whether children with emotional or behavioral problems and general developmental vulnerabilities had increased risk for subsequent police contact as a person of interest, a survivor of crime or a witness. They analyzed data of 79,801 children (50.9% boys; 2009 mean age, 5.2 years) from the New South Wales Child Development Study in Australia, which included children who entered full-time schooling in New South Wales in 2009, had complete data for the Australian Early Development Census’ emotional maturity domain and had no police contact before Jan. 1, 2009. Follow-up of cohort participants occurred until age 13 years. Exposures included emotional or behavioral problems and developmental risk profiles according to the teacher-rated Australian Early Development Census. Incidence rates of police contact derived via the New South Wales Police Force Computerized Operational Policing System served as main outcomes and measures.

Results showed a twofold incidence rate of police contact for any reason among children with teacher-identified emotional or behavioral problems at school entry compared with children without such problems (unadjusted HR = 2.14; 95% CI, 1.94-2.37). The most-recorded manifestation of police contact was as a survivor of crime (9.2%); however, the strength of the association was most significant between emotional or behavioral problems and police contact as a person of interest (unadjusted HR = 4.75; 95% CI, 3.64-6.19). Children with a pervasive developmental risk profile had a high incidence of police contact as a person of interest (unadjusted HR = 13.8; 95% CI, 9.79-19.45).

“This large longitudinal cohort study demonstrated that the well-known association between mental health problems and contact with the criminal justice system in adults and adolescents can be identified at an earlier developmental stage and extends to police contact for any reason,” Dean and colleagues wrote. “These findings provide support for primary and secondary interventions to prevent police contact early in life and to target the earliest contacts with the criminal justice and educational systems.”