4,000 child arrests made in Derbyshire last year
Police in Derbyshire made almost 4,000 child arrests last year, new figures have revealed.
Data published today by the Howard League for Penal Reform shows police in the region made 3,938 arrests of boys and girls aged 17 and under during 2011.
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Last year police in Derbyshire made 3,938 arrests of boys and girls aged 17 and under
This is down on the previous year’s figure of 4,194. The number of child arrests in Derbyshire has fallen steadily in recent years – from 5,608 in 2008 to 4,513 in 2009.
A total of 209,450 child arrests were made in England and Wales last year, the figures released by the charity reveal.
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This number includes 2,117 arrests of children aged 10 or 11, meaning on average six primary school children were arrested every day. Police in England and Wales arrest a child every two-and-a-half minutes, the Howard League found.
However, in a win for the League’s campaign to reduce the number of child arrests, the figures represent a fall of a third since 2008, when 315,923 were recorded.
Frances Crook, Chief Executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “Children who get into trouble are more often than not just being challenging teenagers, and how we respond to this nuisance behaviour could make a difference for the rest of their lives.
“An arrest can blight a life and lead to a criminal record for just being naughty. The positive change in policing children will release resources to deal with real crimes.
“Only a handful of children are involved in more serious incidents and they usually suffer from neglect, abuse or mental health issues. A commitment to public safety means treating them as vulnerable children and making sure they get the help they need to mature into law-abiding citizens.
“Under the last government, police success was measured by the number of arrests and children proved a seductive way to make up the numbers. The fact that the number of child arrests has fallen by a third since 2008 is a testament to a change of culture, more focused on public safety than targets.”
Ten police services have seen the number of child arrests more than halve between 2008 and 2011 - Dorset, Humberside, Suffolk, Hertfordshire, West Mercia, West Midlands, Gloucestershire, North Wales, Lancashire and Warwickshire. Only one, North Yorkshire, recorded an increase.
Like Derbyshire, nearby police services in Nottinghamshire and Staffordshire have seen a steady fall in the number of child arrests.
Some 4,640 child arrests were made last year in Nottinghamshire, down from 5,743 in 2010 and 6,114 in 2009. There were 7,008 child arrests in the region in 2008.
Meanwhile Staffordshire Police made 3,316 child arrests last year, down from 4,163 in 2010 and 4,438 in 2009. Some 5,219 child arrests were made in 2008.
Comments
by dianae
Monday, December 03 2012, 6:58PM
“I would like to know details of what the arrests were for - the Howard League talks about naughtiness, is that the way of it?
I know of primary aged children who have lashed out at staff and/ or other children resulting in black eyes or other bruises but none were arrested. They get excluded for a few days, parents are called in and reasons looked for and solutions reached - at least temporarily.
Though you do hear of people making 999 calls because of squirrels fighting on the lawn .. how many naughty squirrels get arrested?”
by smshogun
Monday, December 03 2012, 6:40PM
“This is what happens when the neer-do-well's get their way and effectively stop parents disciplining their children.”
by Bendigeidfran
Monday, December 03 2012, 6:03PM
“Well done for arresting 4,000 of the little horrors. The problem is, you let them out again.”
by Georgiesmum
Monday, December 03 2012, 5:18PM
“It would be interesting to see what the Howard League for Penal Reform would consider to be "naughty".”