Exploring data linking Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) to crime

This project aims to examine the associations between adversity suffered during childhood (Adverse Childhood Experiences or ACEs), engagement in the criminal justice system, and other poor life outcomes. In an initial phase, a literature review will be conducted to understand how ACEs have been measured in research, within which populations, and which outcomes have been associated with these measured ACEs.

The project will explore the nature, prevalence and impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) amongst young people coming to police attention in Bradford. The research will explore the relationship between ACEs and victim/offender trajectories to provide local service providers, including (but not limited to) the police, with evidence to support early intervention work with children and families within and beyond the study site.

Following completion of a scoping review of the relevant literature, hypotheses will be constructed about the possible operationalisation of ACEs using linked administrative data. These hypotheses will be tested in large population level sets of data using quantitative statistical techniques.