Sussex Police Has "Worked Tirelessly" To Reduce Child Arrests

Monday, 14 December 2020 11:36

By Iona Stewart-Richardson @IslandIona

Sussex Police says the service has "worked tirelessly" to reduce the number of children being arrested.

As previously reported by More Radio, arrests of children by Sussex Police have been reduced by 65 % since the Howard League for Penal Reform began a major campaign to keep boys and girls out of the criminal justice system, new figures reveal.

For the last decade, the Howard League has been working with police forces across England and Wales to reduce arrests of children, helping to ensure that hundreds of thousands of boys and girls do not have their lives blighted by a criminal record.

The charity's latest research briefing, Child arrests in England and Wales 2019, published today, shows that there has been a 71 per cent reduction nationwide in the number of arrests of children aged 17 and under - from 245,763 in 2010 to 71,885 in 2019. Every police force in England and Wales has achieved a reduction in arrests over this period, with all but three reducing their arrest rate by more than half.

Sussex Police made 2,015 arrests of children in 2019. This compares to the 5,779 arrests recorded by the force back in 2010, when the Howard League campaign began.

Now the Howard League is encouraging police forces to build on this success and focus on areas where even more could be done to prevent children being arrested unnecessarily - particularly Black children and children from minority ethnic backgrounds, victims of child criminal exploitation, and children living in residential care.

Welcoming the news, a spokesperson for Sussex Police said:

"Sussex Police, key partner agencies and national colleagues have worked tirelessly to ensure we treat every child as a 'child first'.

"Since 2010 the county has seen a 65 per cent reduction in the number of children being arrested.

"This is a really positive trend, in line with the national picture, and reflects our ongoing work and commitment over recent years to avoid criminalising children and young people.

"In policing we understand that arresting a child can be very traumatic for that child and their family.

"We are trying to avoid doing that where we can, by using voluntary attendance to resolve offences committed by children and young people and, together with partner agencies, consider diversionary activities aimed at steering youngsters away from the criminal justice system.

"There will always be some occasions where arresting a child and young person is crucial 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 by changing the way that we work in partnership, Sussex Police can deliver an efficient and effective service to children and young people across the county."