Inquiry warns of 'lack of trust' between police and young people
Neil Puffett
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Police training should be reviewed in order to address poor relations with young people, a group of MPs has recommended.
An 18-month inquiry conducted by the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) for children into the relationship between children and police found that there was “poor communication” and “a lack of mutual respect” between the two groups.
A report by the APPG makes a total of nine recommendations, calling for:
- A review of police training
- The identification and sharing of best practice examples of police forces that work well with young people
- Each force to have a designated officer responsible for practice with children and young people
- The Home Office to examine how all police forces can set up Safer Schools Partnerships
- For police custody areas to have designated facilities for children and young people
The inquiry heard evidence that children do not always believe that police are there to protect them, and feel that police “target and undermine them”.
It was also claimed that as children get older, their fear can turn into frustration and anger, leading to a complete breakdown in trust in police officers.
The inquiry also found that children who have been trafficked or have been victims of sexual exploitation experience a “postcode lottery” when it comes to the treatment they receive from police.
Positive examples of police work with children and young people were found however, but they are not replicated across the country.
Labour peer Baroness Massey, who chairs the APPG said police too often see children as "small adults", paying too little regard for their distinct needs.
“It is critical that in every encounter with the police, under-18s are treated as children first, with all officers having regard to their welfare, safety and wellbeing,” she said.
“We were concerned to learn that those children who have been trafficked or suffered sexual abuse experience a postcode lottery when it comes to the treatment they receive from the police.
“This, coupled with recent reporting of failures by police forces and other services to take action to tackle child sexual exploitation across the country, demonstrates the need to build a stronger foundation for policing with the best interests of children and young people at its heart.”
Former children’s minister Tim Loughton, a vice-chair of the APPG, said in light of child protection failures in towns and cities including Rotherham, it is “more essential than ever that we have a much better position of trust between the police and our young vulnerable citizens”.
“That must be in everyone’s interest and while we found some examples of good practice, clearly more needs to be done to make good practice commonplace across the country,” he added.
Anna Feuchtwang, chief executive of the National Children’s Bureau, which runs the secretariat for the all-party group, said all police officers should be “equipped and confident to put children’s wellbeing, and their distinct, separate needs and rights, at the forefront of their interactions”.
