​Early intervention is a key area of business that Devon & Cornwall and Dorset police are exploring as part of the evidence based policing being led through the Alliance’s Prevention Department.

We know early intervention is already taking place within policing and with partners. The work which will be undertaken by the Prevention Department will be based on theories such as the Adverse Child Experience, enabling us to identify and safeguard the most vulnerable within our communities and divert them from the Criminal Justice System or from becoming victims. This work will focus on strong and critical partnership working across both public and private sectors.

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Network to promote ACE-aware policing in Wales gets £6.8m (24/05/2019)
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Part of Devon & Cornwall and Dorset police work will be focusing on the Adverse Child Experience (ACE) theory and how we, as a police service, can embed this to help create better outcomes for young people and the community.

What are Adverse Child Experiences?

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are potentially traumatic events that can have negative, lasting effects on health and well-being. Studies from the 90’s identified that there are ten Adverse Childhood Experiences which could lead to negative impact on individuals which are:

  • Physical abuse
  • Sexual abuse
  • Emotional abuse
  • Physical neglect
  • Emotional neglect
  • Mother treated violently
  • Household substance abuse
  • Household mental illness
  • Parental separation or divorce
  • Incarcerated household member

Adverse Childhood Experiences have been linked to:

  • risky health behaviors,
  • chronic health conditions,
  • low life potential, and
  • early death.

As the number of ACEs increases, so does the risk for these outcomes.

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