'Detention of children overnight in police cells 'is chronic breach of law'

A senior police officer has described the overnight detention in police cells of tens of thousands of children each year as a "chronic breach" of the law.

Dawn Copley, Greater Manchester assistant chief constable, told MPs that detaining children before a court appearance the next day was not only bad practice but also a sign that those involved did not see children's rights as important.

A Freedom of Information Act request by the Howard League for Penal Reform disclosed in October that children aged 17 and under were held overnight in police cells on 40,716 occasions in 2011, indicating that it has become the rule rather than the exception.

Copley, who is also the Association of Chief Police Officers lead spokesperson on custody issues, told a recent meeting of the all-party parliamentary group on children at Westminster that the issue had become a large concern for the police.

"The Police and Criminal Evidence Act is clear on this matter and states that if they are being kept in custody they should be transferred to the care of the local authority.

"But in practice we know that local authorities do not always have the accommodation available, and with shrinking resources I think this becomes a growing concern," she told MPs.

"Too often, children and young people remain in custody overnight. The continued chronic breach of this legislative requirement is not only bad practice per se; subliminally it indicates to all involved in the process that children's rights are not seen as important, and I've raised my concerns on this with the Home Office."

Copley added that it was a key role for the police and local authority children's services to ensure better suitable provision was available and make it the exception rather than the rule for children to be detained in custody overnight. Reminding them that they had a "pretty clear" statutory duty to provide alternative accommodation would be a start, she said.

"The norm has become an expectation that it [accommodation] won't be provided and that's not a good place for any of the agencies to be in and it's definitely not a good place for young people to be in."

Enver Solomon of the National Children's Bureau said the most recent figures showed that almost 800 children a week were being held overnight in police stations across England and Wales: "There has been a clear breakdown in the referral process between police custody and local authority accommodation which needs to be urgently addressed," he said.

"Instead of trying to fix a system which is broken, the government should review the current legal framework so that a new approach is adopted which looks at how bail can be used more effectively for children. Overnight stays in polices cells do far more harm than good and can result in tragic consequences. In the vast majority of cases a child should be returned home to their parents or carers. On rare occasions a place of safety will need to be provided," said Solomon.