Different rules in England and Wales mean children can lose protections depending on where they’re placed. Find out how these legal gaps affect their rights.

This guide explains the key differences between Secure Accommodation Orders (SAOs) and Deprivation of Liberty Orders (DoLs IH), when each can be used, who can apply and what criteria must be met. Understanding these distinctions is vital for anyone working with children’s welfare.

The case studies share children’s lived experiences of deprivation of liberty, from interviews with the Children’s Commissioner, to BBC reports of young people detained under little-known orders and The Guardian’s account of a 14-year-old girl failed by the system.

Depriving a person of their liberty involves the state restricting that person’s freedom in some way. A child is deprived of their liberty when the restrictions imposed are different to a restriction a parent or carer might use when caring for a child of a similar age and no one has given valid consent to those restrictions.

This factsheet gives an overview of the Scottish system of dealing with children in conflict with the law, including relevant vocabulary and the implications for those children.

The purpose of this briefing is to provide information to the National Deprivation of Liberty Court and legal professionals in England and Wales to support decision making where it is proposed that a child be placed in Scotland.

A BBC File on 4 investigation (May 24, 2022) documented how the number of girls being strip-searched in the capital is rising. The programmes analysis of data released under a freedom of information request showed that seventy-eight girls were stripped searched in London police stations last year.