Fewer children arrested in the county last year
FEWER children are being arrested in Leicestershire because the police are using restorative justice or treating the youngsters as vulnerable to predatory adults.
Arrests of those aged 17 and under in the county have dropped by two thirds during the last seven years. In 2010 3,322 were arrested and last year, the most recent for which figures are available, 1,129 were arrested.
The figures come from national charity the Howard League for Penal Reform which asked police forces across the country about child arrests.
Leicestershire Detective Chief Police’s Inspector Kenny Henry, force lead for child vulnerability, said: “In Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland we have seen a decrease in the number of young people arrested for the last seven years and we believe this is as a result of a number of different approaches the force takes in dealing with youngsters involved in crime.
“We have continued to work well with other agencies to identify children’s vulnerabilities and recognise that arresting and taking them into custody should only ever be in those circumstances where it is absolutely necessary and unavoidable.
“This has been greatly helped by initiatives such as the setting up of our Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub where partners are co-located to allow working together in the best interests of the child.
“We don’t seek to criminalise young people and if there is a more suitable option available to ensure suspects are held accountable for their crimes and also aware of the seriousness of their actions to prevent reoffending, we will use this using the legislation available to us.
“In recent years we have used restorative justice to deal with youngsters involved in minor offences including antisocial behaviour and this has resulted in fewer people reoffending.
“The reduction in arrest numbers year on year is evidence that this method is working and we will continue to work closely with our partners to seek new approaches to encourage young people to steer away from criminal activity.”
Frances Crook, Chief Executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “This is the seventh year in a row that we have seen a significant reduction in the number of child arrests across England and Wales, and Leicestershire Police’s positive approach has contributed to that transformation.
“It is a phenomenal achievement by the police and the Howard League, and it means that tens of thousands of children will have a brighter future without their life chances being blighted by unnecessary police contact and criminal records.
“We have come a long way, but there is still more work to do. The Howard League has launched a programme to end the criminalisation of children in residential care, and our research also highlights the need for better understanding of child criminal exploitation. Children who have been trafficked to commit crime should be seen as victims first and foremost.”
The charity’s research briefing Child Arrests in England and Wales 2017 raises concerns that being in the criminal justice system causes children to commit more crimes.
The briefing lists a series of groups at risk. They are children in residential care, children being exploited by county lines drugs gangs and children from black, Asian and other ethnic minority backgrounds.