Children Who Commit Acts of Serious Interpersonal Violence: Messages from Best Practice

 Children Who Commit Acts of Serious Interpersonal Violence: Messages from Best Practice
 Edited by Ann Hagell and Renuka Jeyarajah-Dent,
 Jessica Kingsley Publishers
 ISBN 1843103842,
 £19.99

 STAR RATING: 4/5


It was with uncanny timing that I began to read this book, writes Lynn Fordyce.

Amid the alarm over the shooting of three children within a fortnight, were additional stories about the UK’s problem youths and the danger of becoming uncivilised as adults lost control.

In parliament, Alan Duncan MP said that “the country is facing a collapse of authority” as teenagers lose their fear of adult institutions. And at the same time, Unicef research put the UK bottom of a league for child well-being across 21 countries.

Well, here is a reference book for organisations working with potentially dangerous children. It draws on international practice and research and gives hope and encouragement to the developers of policies as well as to practitioners.

The book grew out of an event hosted by NCH and the Oak Foundation, and among the home grown experts are Eileen Vizard and Susan Bailey, with chapters on children with “Sexually abusive behaviours” and “Difficult to place children”.

There are also chapters from professionals and experts in Germany, the Netherlands, Russia, Greece and Bulgaria looking at research and clinical experiences around assessment, diagnosis, attachment, autism and Asperger’s syndrome.

We need to listen and learn from such experiences and this book provides a beginning.

Lynne Fordyce is a specialist health visitor, Child and Family Resource Unit, East Leeds Primary Care Trust

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