Charity calls for the end of overnight police detention of children

This week, the children’s rights charity, Just for Kids Law has released a report calling for an end of the overnight detention of children by police.

Tens of thousands of children are held overnight in police cells every year; this is despite national efforts to reduce overnight detentions and the 2004 Children Act placing a statutory duty for police to regard the wellbeing of children.

The ‘"It’s horrible when they keep you in there at night”: Ending the overnight detention of children in police custody’ [1] report found that in 2019:

• 6,784 (35%) under 15-year-olds were held overnight.
• ?5,650 (29%) 16-year-olds were in custody overnight.
• 6,753 (35%) 17-year-olds were detained.

Racial disparities in child detention a damning reflection on the practices of local police forces and policymakers

Further analysis found that children and Black and minority ethnic backgrounds were disproportionately represented amongst those who are held in custody overnight. Researchers noted that this might be unsurprising as there is a racial disparity across the whole youth criminal justice system. However, they added it further underlines the urgency to address this long-standing issue.

Potentially reflective of local police practices, this difference was found to be particularly over-pronounced in detentions involving the Metropolitan Police, as 44% of children detained overnight were Black and 23% were described to come from other ethnic groups, compared to 29% who were detailed as white.

One 15-year-old boy reported:

“It's horrible when they keep you in there at night. You don't know what's going on; you don't know what's going to happen or what to do with yourself. It's just horrible.”

And a 12-year-old boy told researchers:

“I didn’t know they could do that to you…It was awful, and I wasn’t sure I was going to be ok.”

Some of the most vulnerable children do not belong in the cell

The average detention period was 18-hours; however, 12% of overnight custody exceeded 24-hours and startlingly, in one case in 2021, a 12-year-old boy was detained for five days following a warrant being issued for his arrest.

FOI data indicates that children who are detained overnight for the most prolonged period are those who are arrested over the weekend and outside work hours, as well as those who are arrested on a warrant or for breach of bail.

The Just for Kids Law research concluded that despite some positive progress in reducing the number of children held overnight in police detention, significant action needs to be taken to reduce racial disparities and length detention periods.

Amongst the key recommendations for services and policymakers the charity is calling for:

• Detention in police custody to be used only as a last resort with a much-reduced time limit to how long a child is detained.
• ?A review of the collection, collation and publication of relevant data to ensure adequate oversight.
• A review of the College of Policing’s Authorised Professional Practice on arrest and detention to ensure that police officers understand that children should only be detained as a matter of last resort and for the shortest possible time.
• All police forces and local authorities to sign up to and fully implement the Home Office Concordat on Children in Custody and clearly set out how they will reduce the number of children who are detained overnight in police custody each year, post charge.

Louise King, Director of Policy and Campaigns at Just for Kids Law, said of the report:

“Children who come into contact with the criminal justice system are some of the most vulnerable in society, yet thousands are spending the night in police cells designed to hold adults suspected of criminal activity, leaving children feeling extremely distressed and vulnerable.”

“We need immediate action now, by all those responsible for safeguarding children and protecting their rights, to end this unacceptable and deeply unsafe practice.”

References

[1]https://www.justforkidslaw.org/sites/default/files/upload/J4KL_Detention%20briefing%202022_0.pdf