North Yorkshire sees eighty percent reduction in child arrests over last decade

This is higher than the national average for England Wales which saw a 74 per cent reduction over the decade.

New figures issued today by the Howard League for Penal Reform show the number of under 18s being arrested decreased from 4,525 in 2010, to 905 in 2020.

Since 2010, the Howard League has been working with police forces across England and Wales to reduce child arrests, helping to ensure that hundreds of thousands of boys and girls do not have their lives blighted by a criminal record.

Academic research has shown that each contact a child has with the criminal justice system drags them deeper into it, leading to more crime. This is why the Howard League is working to keep as many boys and girls as possible out of the system in the first place.

Detective Superintendent Allan Harder, North Yorkshire Police’s head of safeguarding, said: “The year-on-year reduction in children being arrested is very good news and shows that the measures we have put in place and with our partner agencies are working.

“Criminalising children has a significant impact upon them at the time, later in their adult lives, and for society.

"For those reasons we and our partner agencies will do everything we can to prevent children and young people from entering the criminal justice system.

“Importantly we all have a part to play in nurturing and supporting our children to ensure they do not find themselves in such a position in the first place.”

Frances Crook, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “Every child deserves the chance to grow and fulfil their potential, and we must do all we can to ensure that they are not held back by a criminal record.

“A decade of success for the Howard League’s programme to reduce child arrests has given hundreds of thousands of children a brighter future.

"Police forces have made giant strides, diverting resources to tackling serious crime instead of arresting children unnecessarily, and this approach will help to make our communities safer.

“As we begin to emerge from the pandemic, and as police forces recruit thousands more officers, the challenge now is to build on this success and reduce arrests still further. Keeping up the momentum will enable even more children to thrive.”