§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the impact of the implementation of the provisions of the Crime and Disorder Bill [Lords] on the number of juveniles held in police custody. [47580]
§ Mr. MichaelThe Crime and Disorder Bill [Lords] does not affect the relevant powers of the police in respect of juveniles or adults. A person is defined as being in police detention by section 118 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, as subsequently amended. This section states that a person is in police detention if
188W…he has been taken to a police station after being arrested for an offence… or,…he is arrested at a police station after attending voluntarily…".The Bill introduces a range of measures which will have an impact across the whole spectrum of juvenile justice issues. These measures are designed to speed up the justice process, and encourage multi-agency co-operation in the youth offending teams. As a result, juvenile justice will undergo radical reform intended to cut reoffending. The key youth justice changes will be piloted and the impact of these changes assessed through evaluation of the pilot project, but there is no basis for estimating the effect on the way the police use their powers of detention.