Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to require children over the age of 16 but below the age of 18 detained for questioning to be transferred from police custody to local authority care overnight; and if so, when.

The Government is committed to ensuring that young people are protected and treated appropriately while in police custody. Subsequent to making the changes in PACE Codes of Practice C and H, the Government launched an internal review into the outstanding primary provisions in PACE that continue to treat 17 year olds as adults. The Home Office has agreed PACE needs to be amended so that there is consistency in all the provisions that relate to the treatment of 17 year olds, thereby ensuring that they are treated as children.

The Third Reading of the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill on 10 November presented the Government with an opportunity to make a partial change to the current provisions in PACE, specifically in respect to Part IV of PACE, relating to police detention. By amending the definition of ‘arrested juvenile’ in section 37(15) from ‘under the age of 17’ to ‘under the age of 18’, it will require the police to transfer 17 year olds to local accommodation following charge and the refusal of bail. The effect of this amendment will be
reflected in future guidance and training. This will make it is absolutely clear to practitioners and the public that 17 year olds will be treated as children by the police under Part IV of PACE. It will ensure that the police transfer 17 year olds to local authority accommodation overnight in circumstances where they have been denied bail.