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Police force urged to improve access to accommodation for children kept in cells

2 mins read Youth Justice
Inspectors have urged a police force to improve its work in finding alternative accommodation for children in custody after just one child was successfully placed last year.
West Mercia has "few arrangements" in place to support children in custody, inspectors found. Picture: Adobe Stock
West Mercia has "few arrangements" in place to support children in custody, inspectors found. Picture: Adobe Stock

West Mercia Police must “work with the relevant local authorities to improve the provision of alternative accommodation for children who are charged and refused bail”, a joint report by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services and HM Inspectorate of Prisons states. 

West Mercia provides custody services at five suites in Worcester, Hereford, Telford, Kidderminster and Shrewsbury.

Inspectors who visited the force in January, note that “outcomes for children who are detained and remanded into custody are poor”.

Of the 36 cases when children were remanded in custody in 2021, 29 requests were made for appropriate alternative accommodation, but only one child was moved. 

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