Dramatic fall in the number of children arrested as figures reach an all time low in Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire Police have put officers back into the classroom to direct kids away from crime
Matt JarramSenior Digital Reporter and Crime Correspondent
Nottinghamshire Police officers on the beat. (Image: Nottingham Post/Marie Wilson)
There has been a dramatic fall in the amount of children under the age of 17 being arrested for crimes across Nottinghamshire.
Arrests of children in Nottinghamshire has been reduced by 76 per cent during the last eight years, research published by the Howard League for Penal Reform - the oldest penal reform organisation in the world - have revealed.
Nottinghamshire Police made 1,357 arrests of boys and girls aged 17 and under in 2018.
This compares to 1,466 in the previous year and 5,743 back in 2010, when the Howard League charity launched a major campaign to reduce child arrests nationwide.
The charity said research has shown that each contact a child has with the criminal justice system drags them deeper into it, leading to more crime.
The Howard League said it wants to keep as many children as possible out of the system in the first place.
Chief Constable of Nottinghamshire Police, Craig Guildford, said the force has deployed a number of measures to engage with children and prevent them entering the system.
Knife-point rape cold case
Lyrico was stabbed to death
This is what the figures reveal
Day out with Notts knife crime team
Last year, Nottinghamshire Police put aside more than £500,000 to be spent on 11 officers who were assigned to secondary schools to reduce the number of youngsters carrying knives.
Police said that studies show that perpetrators who spiral into serious violent crime later in life were often first caught with a knife as young as 11.
This year, primary school pupils will also be educated on the dangers of knife crime, hate crime, drugs and alcohol as part of a new programme.
PC Paul Kanikowski, School and Early Intervention Officer for Nottinghamshire Police
The DARE 25 programme aims to equip youngsters - aged 10 to 11 - with increased awareness through the use of role play, videos, and examining their use of social media.
A total of £308,000 funding has been allocated to the programme over three years.
A number of projects have also been launched in Nottinghamshire to direct youngsters away from a life of crime into boxing, football, and music.
Children are using Nottingham Station to export heroin and cocaine, as police launch crackdown
Knife crime in Nottingham to be tackled like a smoking 'disease'
Frances Crook, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: "Tens of thousands of children can look forward to a brighter future without their lives being blighted by police contact and a criminal record.
"Nottinghamshire Police and other forces up and down the country have diverted resources to tackling serious crime instead of arresting naughty children. This will make communities safer, and the Howard League is proud to have played its part.
"Building on this success and reducing the number of arrests still further would allow even more children to thrive."
Arrests of children in Nottinghamshire
Detective Superintendent Andrew Gowan, from Nottinghamshire Police, said: "Nottinghamshire Police takes child welfare and safeguarding very seriously and will always seek to take a restorative approach when an offender is a child.
"We have recently invested in putting officers back into schools to deal with any issues as they arise and engage with children so they understand the police are there to help and not solely to prosecute.
"With the help of our partners, we are an active member on child exploitation panels that help protect children from being involved in serious, violent and drug related crime."