Arrests of kids by Hampshire Police have been decreased by 53 per cent.
This statistic has emerged because the Howard League for Penal Reform started a significant marketing campaign to maintain girls and boys out of the legal justice system.
For the final decade, the Howard League has been working with police forces throughout England and Wales to scale back arrests of kids, serving to to make sure that tons of of hundreds of girls and boys don’t have their lives blighted by a legal report.
The charity’s newest analysis briefing, Youngster arrests in England and Wales 2019, reveals that there was a 71 per cent discount nationwide within the variety of arrests of kids aged 17 and below – from 245,763 in 2010 to 71,885 in 2019.
Hampshire Police made 3,917 arrests of kids in 2019. This compares to the 8,267 arrests recorded by the power again in 2010, when the Howard League marketing campaign started.
Now the Howard League is encouraging police forces to construct on this success and concentrate on areas the place much more may very well be achieved to forestall kids being arrested unnecessarily – significantly black kids and kids from minority ethnic backgrounds, victims of kid legal exploitation, and kids dwelling in residential care.
Frances Criminal, chief government of the Howard League for Penal Reform, mentioned: “Each little one deserves the prospect to develop and fulfil their potential, and we should do all we will to make sure that they aren’t held again by a legal report.
“The Howard League’s programme to scale back little one arrests has proven what may be achieved by working collectively. Police forces have diverted assets to tackling severe crime as a substitute of arresting kids unnecessarily, and this implies tons of of hundreds of girls and boys can sit up for a brighter future.
“After a profitable decade spent embedding good observe throughout England and Wales, the problem now’s to maintain up the momentum and scale back arrests nonetheless additional. The Howard League will proceed to assist forces to make communities safer and permit extra kids to thrive.”
The biggest police power, the Metropolitan Police, made 14,183 arrests of kids in 2019.
This was a 3 per cent rise on the earlier yr, when 13,791 arrests have been made, however a 69 per cent discount on 2010, when there have been 46,079.
Though 22 police forces recorded will increase in little one arrests between 2018 and 2019, their numbers have been a lot decrease than when the Howard League’s marketing campaign started in 2010.
The charity has inspired forces to analyse their knowledge and examine how arrests may very well be decreased in future.
Some forces reported that the rise was believed to be, at the very least partly, associated to operations to deal with county strains. As an alternative of being handled as victims, some kids are being arrested as a result of they’re suspected of getting dedicated crimes on account of their exploitation by others.
The dearth of expertise and coaching of frontline officers additionally seems to be a major concern.
