This is the protocol for a Campbell systematic review. The proposed systematic review question is: What is the effectiveness of arts interventions for at-risk and offending children and young people (8-25 years)? There are three objectives: (1) To evaluate evidence on the effectiveness and impact of arts interventions on keeping children safe from involvement in violence and crime; (2) To synthesise evidence on factors impacting the implementation of arts interventions, and barriers and facilitators to participation and achievement of intended outcomes; (3) To develop a theory-of-change approach to ensure the development of an evidence-led framework of the processes by which arts interventions might work in preventing offending behaviours.