Inspectorate censures police for holding vulnerable children in cells
Joe Lepper
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Police forces have been criticised for placing vulnerable children in cells as a substitute for appropriate welfare provision.
The Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary report The Welfare of Vulnerable People In Police Custody found that police officers sometimes detained young people in cells following reports of bad behaviour at children’s homes.
It says that despite police having a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children “some police officers did not regard all children as vulnerable” adding, “they saw the offence first and the fact that it involved a child as secondary”.
The report calls on police officers to talk to those involved at the scene and calm situations down to avoid the need for arrests.
The inspectorate also urges police forces to work closely with children’s services and other partners on crime prevention initiatives.
Among positive examples mentioned in the report is a multi-agency project called “Family Connect” in Telford, where social workers, probation, police and health professionals are co-located and meet weekly to discuss children at risk of entering the criminal justice system.
Work in North Wales through the All Wales Schools Liaison Core Programme, where police worked closely with local children at risk of crime, particularly those in care homes, was also praised in the report.
Young people who have been detained by police on previous occasions should be key targets for such multi-agency, preventative work, says the report.
Analysis of custody records of six forces showed that out of 81 children detained 70 had been detained on at least one previous occasion.
“Multi-agency care planning would help to prevent these repeat detentions, by addressing some of the underlying problems,” the report adds.
The report also raised concerns that children were still being detained in cells under the Mental Health Act 1983, something the government has pledged to act on.
The report adds: “In some police areas the use of police cells for children detained under section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983 is unheard of while in other areas it is routine.
"Where children were detained in police custody under section 136, inspectors expressed concern about their care.”
Another concern was that restraint procedures designed for use on violent adults were being used on “frightened children” in custody.
The report says: “A significant finding from this inspection is that police officers are trying to respond to children and those suffering from mental health crises in an environment and with policing tools, skills and knowledge that are wholly unsuited to the task.”
HM Inspector of Constabulary Dru Sharpling said: “There can be no argument that the needs of a child, left abandoned by his or her parents, or a person in the midst of a mental health crisis, are often very different to those of a serial offender.
"Yet the bricks and mortar of the police cells do not and cannot make that distinction.
“I am particularly concerned to find that on occasions when officers were left with no other option, they resorted to detaining vulnerable people in police custody in order to get them the support they needed.”
