Children have been held in police cells overnight in Sussex due to a lack of more suitable secure accommodation

The situation was discussed during a Sussex Police performance & accountability meeting on Friday (February 16) which was chaired by Police & Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne.

Temporary Assistant Chief Constable Howard Hodges said such occurrences were ‘relatively rare’, averaging three cases per month across Sussex.

Under the Police & Criminal Evidence Act, police have a responsibility to transfer children who have been denied bail into the care of the Local Authority.

But there are exceptional circumstances in which youngsters can be held in a cell.

These include when the child is deemed to pose a significant risk of harm to the public between being charged and appearing in court and no Local Authority accommodation is available.

When asked how easy was to track down secure accommodation in Sussex, T/ACC Hodges said it was ‘a challenge’.

Pointing out that there were times the space had been used to house children from other counties, he added: “In reality, for the majority of young people in these circumstances, where we are seeking secure accommodation from the Local Authority, it isn’t readily available and hence young people spend that time in the cells overnight prior to attending court.”

The Home Office is carrying out a countrywide review of the situation.

Mrs Bourne said she would be happy to put pressure on Local Authorities to ‘encourage’ them to provide what was needed.

She described the situation as being: “Another clear example of where police fill a gap that isn’t provided by somebody else.”