PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Youth Custody (13 May 2022)

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what (a) steps she is taking to safeguard children who are in custody and (b) procedures her Department has put in place to ensure police protect the welfare of children.

Asked by:
Marsha De Cordova (Labour)

Nobody should be subject to any use of police powers because of their race or ethnicity and extensive safeguards exist to ensure this does not happen. Her Majesty’s inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) inspect police forces’ compliance with the legislation and College of Police guidance through their programme of national thematic inspections. In addition, the Home Office fund the Independent Custody Visiting Association who co-ordinate independent custody visitors in making unannounced visits to police custody to check on the rights and wellbeing of detainees.

Any use of strip search should be carried out in accordance with the law and with full regard for the dignity and welfare of the individual being searched – particularly if the individual being searched is a child. If police judge it operationally necessary to strip search a child, they must do so in the presence of the child’s appropriate adult (unless both the child and appropriate adult consent to it being done in the absence of the appropriate adult) and in line with safeguarding procedures.

Children and young people are a protected group with specific vulnerabilities. Their treatment in detention is governed not only by domestic legislation but also by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) which the UK has signed and ratified. Everyone who works with children has a responsibility for keeping them safe. This means they have a role to play in identifying concerns about a child’s safety and wellbeing, sharing information and taking prompt action when it is needed to protect a child.

It is essential that the police and frontline professionals recognise vulnerability in children and young people, regardless of the circumstances around any interaction. To support this the Home Office have funded the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s Vulnerability Knowledge and Practice programme, which shares the very best practice across forces. We also fund the College of Policing’s Public Protection and Safeguarding Leadership programme which ensures senior leaders in policing have a strong understanding of vulnerability.

Answered by:
Rachel Maclean (Conservative)
18 May 2022