Child arrests drop over the past six years
Arrests of children by the police force which covers Shropshire have fallen over the past six years, figures have revealed today.
Research by the Howard League for Penal Reform has found that West Mercia Police made 1,247 arrests of children aged 17 and under last year, down from 5,491 in 2010.
The numbers mean there has been a reduction of 77 per cent.
Across England and Wales, the total number of arrests has also fallen by 64 per cent in six years – from almost 250,000 in 2010 to 87,525 in 2016.
The charity says it shows the success of its ongoing programme which began back in 2010 and involves working with police forces to keep as many boys and girls as possible out of the criminal justice system.
It says keeping children out of the criminal justice system helps prevent crime in the long run.
Academic research has shown that the more contact a child has with the system, the more entrenched they are likely to become, increasing re-offending rates.
Frances Crook, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “For the sixth year running, we have seen a significant reduction in child arrests across the country. This is a tremendous achievement, and we will continue to support police forces to develop their good practice and reduce the number to an absolute minimum.
“West Mercia Police should be applauded for their positive approach, and the Howard League is proud to have played its part in a transformation that will make our communities safer.
“By working together, we are ensuring that tens of thousands of children will have a brighter future and not be dragged into a downward spiral of crime and custody.”
The figures, revealed through a Freedom of Information Act, show every police force in England and Wales made fewer child arrests in 2016 than in 2010. All but four forces brought down their number of arrests by more than half.
Nationwide, there were 703 arrests of primary-age children in 2016, a reduction of 18 per cent from the previous year.
The statistics have been published in the Howard League briefing 'Child arrests in England and Wales 2016', which shows how reducing the number of children entering the system has stemmed the flow of children into custody.
Between 2010 and 2016, the number of children in prison in England and Wales fell by 58 per cent.
As in 2015, arrests of girls are falling at a faster rate than arrests of boys. Police recorded a 69 per cent drop in girls’ arrests between 2010 and 2016, and the number of girls in penal custody fell by 78 per cent during the same period.
