Arrests of children and young people drop by a third
Neil Puffett
Monday, December 3, 2012
The number of children and young people arrested by police has dropped by a third since 2008, research has found.
Figures obtained by the Howard League for Penal Reform show that there were 209,450 arrests of under-18s last year, compared to 315,923 in 2008, a drop of 33.7 per cent.
Despite welcoming the decline, the campaign group said the latest statistics still represent a child being arrested every two and a half minutes.
The charity has also expressed concern that the figure for 2011 includes 2,117 arrests of children aged 10 or 11, meaning that an average of six primary school children were arrested every day.
Frances Crook, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said children who get into trouble are “more often than not just being challenging teenagers”, but the response to their actions can damage the rest of their lives.
“An arrest can blight a life and lead to a criminal record for just being naughty,” she said. “Only a handful of children are involved in more serious incidents and they usually suffer from neglect, abuse or mental health issues.
“A commitment to public safety means treating them as vulnerable children and making sure they get the help they need to mature into law-abiding citizens."
Inspector Andy Briers of the Metropolitan Police said the drop is down to an increased focus on early intervention and the decision to drop police targets for offences brought to justice.
“We are not chasing targets anymore,” he said. “We have realised that once children get arrested and get involved with the criminal justice system they are likely to offend again and that is what we want to avoid at all costs. Once they get cautioned, it is a slippery slope.”
Tim Bateman, criminologist at the University of Bedfordshire said the figures show that some forces have experienced a significantly greater drop in arrest numbers than others, indicating that further progress can be made.
Ten police services – Dorset, Gloucestershire, Hertfordshire, Humberside, Lancashire, North Wales, Suffolk, Warwickshire, West Mercia and West Midlands – have seen the number of arrests more than halve between 2008 and 2011.
“There is quite some variation between the areas which makes you think there is potential for areas to replicate the achievements of the forces with the biggest reductions,” Bateman said. “There is scope for some police forces to do more than they have done.”
