‘Juvenile offenders should be treated as children first and foremost’, say police
Child arrests by Sussex Police have dropped by nearly 70 per cent in the last ten years, according to newly released figures.
Data provided by Sussex Police show thousands fewer child arrests were made in 2020 compared to 2010 – with overall arrests of children dropping 68 per cent, the Howard League for Penal Reform campaign said.
Sussex Police made 1,858 child arrests in 2020.
This compares to 2,015 the year before and 5,779 in 2010, the year that the campaign began.
TheHowardLeagueheralded thenewsasa‘majorstepforward’ initsfighttoreducechildarrests.
Since 2010, the Howard League has been working with police forces across England and Wales to reduce child arrests, helping to ensure that hundreds of thousands of boys and girls do not have their lives blighted by a criminal record, the campaign said.
Dataprovidedbypoliceforces show that arrests of children aged 17 and under were reduced by 13 per cent last year – from 72,475 in 2019 to 63,272 in 2020.
This continues a trend seen throughout the decade since 2010, when 245,763 arrests were recorded.
The impact can be observed nationwide, the campaign said.
A spokesman added: “Every regional police force in England and Wales has achieved a significant reduction in child arrestsoverthelastdecade,with all but one reducing their arrest rate by at least 60 per cent.
“Academic research has shown that each contact a child has with the criminal justice system drags them deeper into it, leading to more crime.
“This is why the Howard
League is working to keep as many boys and girls as possible out of the system in the first place.”
Frances Crook, chief executive of the Howard League forPenalReform,saideverychild deserves the chance to grow and fulfil their potential.
Sheadded:“Wemustdoallwe can to ensure that they are not held back by a criminal record.
“A decade of success for the Howard League’s programme to reduce child arrests has given hundreds of thousands of children a brighter future.
“Sussex Police has made giant strides, diverting resources to tackling serious crime instead of arresting children unnecessarily, and this approach will help to make our communities safer.”
A spokesman for Sussex Police heralded the figures as a ‘really positive trend’ which is in line with the national data.
Sheadded:“[This]reflectsour ongoing work and commitment over recent years to avoid criminalising children and young people.”
The spokesman said that those working in policing understandthatarrestingachild can be ‘very traumatic’ for that child and their family.
She added: “We are trying to avoid doing that where we can, byusingvoluntaryattendanceto resolve offences committed by children and young people and, together with partner agencies, consider diversionary activities aimed at steering young people away from the criminal justice system.
“There will always be some occasions where arresting a childandyoungpersoniscrucial to the investigation and cannot be avoided, however the force’s belief is that juvenile offenders should be treated as children first and foremost.
“These figures highlight that bychangingthewaythatwework inpartnership,SussexPolicecan deliver an efficient and effective service to children and young people across the county.”
In 2010 Sussex Police recorded 5,779 child arrests, the Howard League said.
This dropped to 1,893 in 2017 and 1,766 in 2018.
The number of child arrests grew slightly to 2,015 in 2019.
But the latest figures, for 2020 showed that the number of arrests dropped to 1,858 – not as low as 2018 but below the 2019 data.
As the UK begins to emerge fromthepandemic,andaspolice forces recruit thousands more officers, the challenge now is to build on this success and reduce arrestsstillfurther,Francessaid.
She added: “Keeping up the momentum will enable even more children to thrive.”
The Howard League said nine police forces recorded reductions of 20 per cent or more in 2020: Cheshire (24 per cent); Cumbria (33 per cent); Leicestershire (24 per cent); Merseyside(22percent);Norfolk (34 per cent); Nottinghamshire (31 per cent); South Wales (27 per cent); Suffolk (24 per cent); and the British Transport Police (22 per cent).
The largest force, the MetropolitanPolice,made13,599 child arrests in 2020.
This was a 4 per cent reduction on the previous year and a 70 per cent reduction on 2010, when 46,079 arrests were recorded.
Police forces achieved a significant reduction in arrests of primary school-aged children –boysandgirlsaged11andunder – from 392 in 2019 to 261 in 2020.
ButtheHowardLeaguefound no obvious improvement in the way police recorded ethnicity.
There were almost 5,200 arrests in 2020 for which the ethnicity of the child was not recorded, the Howard League said.