The aim of the project informing this report set out to critically analyse Policing Childhood Challenging Violent or Aggressive Behaviour: responding to vulnerable families by reflecting on more than 9 months of reported incident data. There is an accepted barrier in developing analysis of Childhood Challenging, Violent or Aggressive Behaviour (CCVAB) due to the ‘nature of the beast’. Generally speaking, families do not, or will not, discuss violence in the home in most situations: be this adult to adult/ child to adult/ adult to child. For this reason, the data analysed only represents those families who were in contact with Northumbria Police during the data collection period; and in all probability represent the ‘tip of the iceberg’. It is acknowledged the data is an insight only rather than a whole view of CCVAB. At times the officers attending are unable to offer any real intervention due to the age of the child involved, something that is beyond their control. For this reason, the thoughts of Schon come to mind where ‘In the varied topography of professional practice, there is a high, hard ground overlooking a swamp…” or the ‘outsider’ professional lens that CCVAB is seen. The professional lens (such as that of a responding officer) can allow for application of theory, where “On the high ground manageable problems lend themselves to solution through application of research-based theory and technique”. In practice this would include the Home Office Guidelines for Adolescent to Parent Abuse (2015). Unfortunately, the Home Office Guidance does not include advice on what to do for any child under the age of ‘Adolescence’. This oversight means there is no mechanism for the police to detail the incident other than refer the family to relevant Child Service agencies. Current and previous evidence from research and working with families experiencing CCVAB details how CCVAB can commence from age 2-3 years and more frequently commences between the ages of 6-9 years than at any other age. This means that at the time of police involvement the escalation of CCVAB behaviours may have been ongoing for more than 6 years, without any intervention, support or professional awareness of the situation. This unreported and unsupported position can leave families ‘In the swampy lowland,’ where ‘messy, confusing problems defy technical solution’. The sections in this report present the findings mapped to the objectives for the project including: · Current discussion relating to CCVAB- what it is and how this is defined · Objective 1: Prevalence of CCVAB responses made by Northumbria Police · Objective 2: Pre-indicators for CCVAB behaviours that lead to the request for police intervention · Objective 3: Commonality of behaviour traits displayed requiring police response · Objective 4: Outcomes for children displaying CCVAB in contact with Northumbria Police · Recommendations for future ‘Policing of Childhood Challenging Violent or Aggressive Behaviour and responding to vulnerable families'