Page 88 - JUSTICE Tackling Racial Injustice - Children and the Youth Justice System

that is not possible, planned interviews should be used where there is no
immediate risk of harm to other people or no history of the child
absconding. This would allow a time to be arranged that suits everyone,
including legal representatives and appropriate adults. Data suggests that an
appropriate adult is more likely to attend voluntary interviews, due to the
advanced notice they receive. This can only be a positive for a child and will
ensure a fairer process.

4.23 We also understand that police officers and magistrates can see custody as a
place of safety for children. While we understand and applaud the desire to
safeguard a child from potential harm, we stress that police custody should
never be considered a place of safety for a child. Local authorities have a
statutory duty under section 22 of the Children Act 2004 to provide secure
accommodation for children. Should a bail package fail to identify secure
accommodation, we consider that magistrates should require social
services to attend court to explain why. We understand that takes place in
some courts and consider that embedding this within existing procedures
would ensure consistent practice. For this to be successful, magistrates and
social workers need to build effective relationships. This is especially so given
the national scarcity of placements. An effective working relationship would
allow more space for solutions to be found, rather than accepting a lack of
placements. To aid this, it is important to ensure that there is enough time for
a bail package to be created.

Encourage reasonable questioning of the provenance of police
intelligence
4.24 At present, police intelligence acts as a significant factor in the decision-
making process for granting bail. The quality of such evidence, therefore, is
crucial, given its potentially significant impact in the decision to imprison
children and young adults.

4.25 We therefore recommend that there should be a duty of candour
evidenced by a statement of truth, for example in a witness statement,
which must accompany the police intelligence provided for a remand
hearing. 242 Given the importance placed on the police’s assessment of

242 See College of Policing advice to officers in respect of intelligence - “Reasonable steps should be
taken to check that the information is accurate, recent and not provided maliciously. The identity of an

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