ARRESTS of children have fallen by 54 per cent in the last four years, a study released today shows.

The Howard League for Penal Reform said police data revealed that a long-running programme of work to keep as many children as possible out of the criminal justice system was proving successful.

Every police service in England and Wales made fewer child arrests in 2014 than in 2010, with some constabularies reducing their numbers by more than 70 per cent.

Arrests of children by Durham Police have fallen by 59 per cent in the last four years, from 3,658 in 2010 to 1,493 in 2014.

Police and Crime Commissioner Ron Hogg said: “We have made a deliberate policy of not arresting people where we do not have to, so we would have people in as voluntary attenders and that is part of a general trend as well.

“It is to take a little bit of the sting out of any investigation. It is a good thing, especially with young people, that they do not go through the trauma of police arrests, unless it is necessary of course.”

Arrests of children by Cleveland Police have fallen by 65 per cent in the last four years with the number of arrests on Teesside dropping from 4,367 in 2010 to 1,527 in 2014.

In North Yorkshire the figure has fallen by 68 per cent, dropped from 4,525 in 2010 to 1,445 in 2014, while in the Northumbria area it fell by 54 per cent from 11,407 to 5,280.

Nationally, several police services have reviewed their arrest procedures and policies as a result of the Howard League’s engagement with them.

Police made 245,763 arrests of children aged 17 and under during 2010, but that number has fallen every year since.

There were 112,037 arrests during 2014, of which boys accounted for 83 per cent and girls accounted for 17 per cent.

The reduction in arrests has led to a significant fall in the number of children in prison, down by 56 per cent since January 2010.

Frances Crook, Chief Executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “The Howard League has worked closely with police forces round the country to stem the flow of children being sucked into the criminal justice system.

“The fantastic success of our programme of work and the police improvement to their practices means that thousands of children have not had their life chances blighted.

“It is for parents and schools to deal with normal childish challenging behaviour, not the police.

“It is to the credit of the police that they have introduced restorative approaches and given front line officers discretion to make professional decisions.”