ARRESTS of children across the region have fallen dramatically in the last five years, figures published today show.

The Howard League for Penal Reform credits the reduction to the charity’s successful campaign and a concerted effort by the police to keep children out of criminal justice system.

Early intervention and restorative justice was also cited by police chiefs.

The figures show arrests in County Durham and North Yorkshire have fallen by 67 and 71 per cent respectively.

Darlington MP Jenny Chapman, Labour, and Kevin Hollinrake, Conservative MP for Thirsk and Malton, both welcomed the news but stressed the need to prioritise the victim and take a robust stance against anti-social behaviour.

Ms Chapman added: “Prevention is always better than cure, and that is especially true when it comes to crime.”

Across England and Wales, 102,666 children aged 17 and under were arrested during 2015 – a 58 per cent reduction.

Durham Police arrested 1,193 children last year, compared to 3,658 in 2010. North Yorkshire Police arrested 1,317 last year, compared to 4,525 in 2010.

The figures in the Cleveland force area fell from 4,367 to 1,358 in the five year period and in Northumbria the drop was 11,407 in 2010 to 3,829 last year.

Frances Crook, chief executive of the Howard League congratulated the forces, adding: “The Howard League is proud to have played its part in a significant change to the policing and life chances of children.”

Chief Inspector Neal Bickford, operations manager for custody and criminal justice reform at Durham Police, said: “We are pleased that the number of young people arrested in County Durham and Darlington continues to fall, and while we recognise that there are occasions where a young person is rightly detained in custody, we support the Youth Justice Board’s evidence-based policy of keeping children and young people out of the criminal justice process unless absolutely necessary.”

Leanne McConnell, head of criminal justice for North Yorkshire Police, said there were times when it was necessary to take robust action but added: “North Yorkshire Police recognises that there are many approaches to take when interacting with young people who come to our attention for offending behaviour. This does not always involve arrest.”