This national prevalence survey aimed to identify whether the findings from the original study (2015), based on a single case study design, extends beyond Greentown. A survey method conducted with a national set of expert respondents was selected to test the resonance of the original findings throughout Ireland.

Evidence in support of the original Greentown findings:

• While small in number, children’s profiles, as described in the original study, were not confined to Greentown.
• These profiles were seen to fit a minority (1 in 8) of the children involved in the diversion system across the country. This was not confined to large urban areas.
• Children involved in serious and persistent crime present with multiple vulnerabilities and complexities.
• Some children involved in serious and persistent crime were likely to be engaged in crime networks.
• Children involved in criminal networks who were described as blood relatives of local dominant crime families (family members) were predominantly groomed in crime by older family members.
• Children involved in criminal networks who were not blood relatives of local dominant crime families (associates) were mostly groomed in crime by younger non-family members of the network or ‘recruiters’.

Evidence insufficiency or not supporting the original Greentown findings:

• There was insufficient evidence to identify the hierarchical difference within criminal networks between children who were described as family members and children who were described as associates.
• Although both groups of children were equally likely to present with welfare concerns, children described as family members were more likely to have increased risk factors in terms of committing crime and have parents with more chaotic lifestyles when compared to children who were described as associates.