Huge drop in child arrests in Sussex in a decade
The number of children arrested in the county fell by 65% over ten years
Last updated 14th Dec 2020
New figures released today have revealed the number of children arrested in Sussex fell by over 3,500 between 2010 and 2019.
That's according to the Howard League for Penal Reform, which launched a major campaign to keep under 17s out of the criminal justice system in 2010.
In 2019 there were 2,015 young people arrested by Sussex Police, compared to 5,779 when the campaign began.
That figure is slightly up on the 1,766 recorded in 2018, though.
The campaign started with the aim of working with police forces across England to reduce the number of children arrested, to prevent their lives being impacted by a criminal record.
Nationally there has been a reduction of 71% since 2010, with the number falling from 245,763 to 71,885 in 2019.
However, that is a slight rise from 2018, which the Howard League believes is partly related to operations to tackle county lines.
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.
"The Howard League’s programme to reduce child arrests has shown what can be achieved by working together. Police forces have diverted resources to tackling serious crime instead of arresting children unnecessarily, and this means hundreds of thousands of boys and girls can look forward to a brighter future.
"After a successful decade spent embedding good practice across England and Wales, the challenge now is to keep up the momentum and reduce arrests still further. The Howard League will continue to support forces to make communities safer and allow more children to thrive."
According to the Howard League for Penal Reform, national data continued to show inequalities for Black children and children from minority ethnic backgrounds.
The proportion of Black children arrested doubled to 16% over the last 10 years, while the proportion of white children fell by 13%.
The Howard League is encouraging police forces across the country to continue to prevent children being arrested unnecessarily, with a particular focus on Black children and children from minority ethnic backgrounds, victims of child criminal exploitation, and children living in residential care.