Police have the power to interview children under caution without arresting or detaining them – these are often referred to as ‘voluntary interviews’, or ‘caution plus three’. However, children are not interviewed under caution outside a custody suite as often as they could be. Many children find themselves arrested and detained in police custody for longer than necessary, despite government recognition that the custody environment is designed to hold adult suspects and that prolonged exposure to such a setting can be harmful to a child. This guide provides an overview of the law on the pre-and post-charge detention of children by the police and examines the corresponding duties of the local authority, and gives practical tips on what can be done by practitioners to reduce the time spent by children in police custody.
