Call to keep teenage girls out of custody
Neil Puffett
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Teenage girls are committing less crime, with a big fall in violent offences, but are ending up in custody over "minor misdemeanours" a parliamentary inquiry has found.
As part of a year-long inquiry into girls, the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Women in the Penal System found that the number of girls arrested each year has been falling since 2008.
In line with this, the number of disposals given to girls for offences has fallen from 59,236 in 2006/07 to 43,186 in 2009/10, a drop of 27.1 per cent.
The number of violent offences committed by girls has fallen from 17,415 in 2006/07 to 12,291 in 2009/10, a fall of 29 per cent.
The APPG, co-chaired by Baroness Corston and Kate Green MP, has called for the age of criminal responsibility in England and Wales to be raised to 14 years in a briefing released today (7 March) by the Howard League for Penal Reform.
The briefing, Keeping Girls Out of the Penal System, reveals that the majority of girls in the penal system had committed only minor misdemeanours. It recommends a return to restorative policing where officers can exercise professional discretion and resolve matters informally and immediately.
It also condemned police custody suites as unsafe and unsuitable environments for teenage girls.
The APPG believes that lifting the minimum age of criminal responsibility would provide significant protection for hundreds of girls and their families every year.
Chair of the APPG, Baroness Jean Corston said: "It is illogical to think we can treat all of our social problems and small misdemeanours with the blunt end of the law.
"At the more serious end, girls’ problematic behaviour is often a signifier that they have welfare needs which need addressing, including poverty, substance misuse or domestic violence and abuse.
"But the majority of girls are just young and are simply pushing the boundaries.
"One way or another, girls are often unnecessarily arrested and detained when many of them should not be clogging up the system.
"Many officers will appreciate a return to back-to-basics policing while at the same time diverting girls from the costly process of cuffs and courts."
The briefing outlines the view that police services should not be expected to act as welfare services for girls, rather the local authority, not the police who should provide a temporary place of safety for girls until their parents can be contacted.
