Children to be bailed rather than detained in custody

A concordat published today by the Home Office and signed by police forces and local authorities states that, although the bar to justify detention of children after charge is currently "very high", indicators suggest the intended threshold is not always met.

"Bail is by far the most preferable option for most children charged with an offence," the document states.

"It ensures that they spend as little time as possible in police custody and, in ideal circumstances, will allow the child to return home in advance of their court appearance."

The concordat sets out seven key principles for signatories to work towards to address the situation.

In addition to bailing children whenever possible, the expectation is that children who have been denied bail will be transferred to suitable accommodation whenever practicable, secure accommodation will be requested only when necessary, and local authorities will always accept requests for non-secure accommodation.

Meanwhile, where a local authority fails to provide accommodation it will be required to reimburse the cost of detention to police. Police forces will also be required to collect data on transfers.

"This concordat will have been successful when we see a decline in the number of children held overnight and when government, inspectorates, local safeguarding bodies, pressure groups and charities can scrutinise the case of any child held in police custody and have no doubt that the child is being held in full accordance with the law," the document states.

The concordat which was developed by the Home Office and Department for Education alongside organisations including the Association of Directors of Children's Services, the Association of Independent LSCB Chairs, the Youth Justice Board, the Office of the Children's Commissioner for England and the National Police Chiefs' Council, has been signed by 87 top tier local authorities and 24 out of 39 English police forces.

Research by the Howard League for Penal Reform from 2013 found that 40,716 children under the age of 17 were held overnight in police cells in 2011, including 2,292 children aged 10 to 13.