My Lords, this amendment addresses the problem of stopping and searching children below the age of 10 and requires an appropriate adult to be present before the search is undertaken.
As I said in Committee, the amendment stems from the report of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Children chaired by my noble friend Lady Massey. In reply to a request for information about stop and search, the group was told that between 2009 and 2013, 1,136 children under the age of 10 were subjected to the process in 22 police force areas. The figures are something of an underestimate because the Met’s record did not include 2009 and 2011, and other forces did not supply information. It is noteworthy and somewhat surprising that the Sussex police force apparently conducted 454 of those searches, which is a high proportion of the total number. That suggests either that there are some particular problems in that force’s area, or, perhaps more probably, that recording elsewhere is not reliable, so the national figure is probably understated.
It is regrettably apparent that there is no complete picture of the number of children under 10 who have been subjected to this procedure, such that the scale of its use can really only be estimated. In Scotland, 72 children of seven years or under were stopped and searched. Some forces make an effort to take a child home before searching, but they were unable to say
how many looked-after children were subject to the procedure, and only 20 police forces—around half—had separate custody facilities for children in the police stations.
The all-party group very reasonably suggested that data should be collected in relation to ethnicity and on other aspects, noting that among the forces that supplied data on the ethnicity of under-18s, 41% were black and Asian—a disproportionately high quotient. It was noted that some forces do not even record the names and addresses of these children or their dates of birth.
The Home Office has reviewed stop and search powers in general. I congratulate the Home Secretary on the steps taken in that respect, but specific guidance on this issue appears to be lacking. In his reply in Committee the Minister appeared to be somewhat complacent, if I may say so, when he stated that existing provisions were adequate. He referred to the safeguards already in place for stop and search powers, stating that the police were obliged,
“to provide key information to the person being searched about the purpose of the search and the grounds for searching, and ensuring that the person subject to the search understands the procedure”.—[Official Report, 14/7/14; col. 471.]
We are talking about children under the age of 10. How realistic is that assurance in the circumstances? As I said, in Scotland and possibly other force areas, children under seven were subjected to the procedure.
The all-party group made a number of recommendations, including that an annual review of stop and search powers should assess the proportionality of stop and searches in relation to age, including the stopping and searching of children under 10. It recommends that the PACE code should be revised to require the recording of the date of birth of children and young people on stop-and-search forms and central recording systems, with specific guidance on carrying out the procedure, including advice on safeguarding and child protection, and that steps should be taken to protect vulnerable children—for example, those in care or at risk of abuse.
It said that the annual review should assess the proportionality of stop and searches of under-18s in relation to ethnicity; that the Home Office and the DfE should work with police to consider how best to monitor the rates of search of looked-after children; and that all newly built custody suites should have a separate area for children and young people, with the Home Office directing forces to consider the allocation of areas to be used separately for children and young people within existing facilities. Finally, it suggested that the Home Office should work with ACPO to share good practice in developing juvenile custody facilities.
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The Minister, in replying to the debate, did not comment on any of these matters, but instead indicated that the Government would respond to the all-party group’s final report, which is due to be published this month. That report will deal specifically with recommendations regarding under-10s: namely, whether there should be a presumption against stop and search for this group, other than in exceptional circumstances;
where the procedure should take place; and whether it should occur only in the presence of an appropriate adult, carer or parent in the family home.
Generally, I commend the approach of the Home Secretary in relation to changes in stop and search, but the Minister should surely by now be in a position to indicate the Government’s response to the existing recommendations of the all-party group, all of which apply to under-10s as they do to others, and some of which are exclusively concerned with them. Perhaps the Minister would also indicate whether the department has looked at the Scottish system to which I referred in Committee. In Scotland, despite the revelation that some children under seven years of age had been the subject of stop and search, there has now been a radical change and stop and search of children under 12 years of age is to be ended completely.
This amendment does not go that far, but it does suggest that there should be an “appropriate adult” present. That really should not be too difficult. It need not necessarily be a parent—although clearly that would be desirable—but there should be others available: for example, from the children’s services of the relevant local authority, or voluntary organisations concerned with childcare. It should be possible to have somebody contactable and available to be present when a child of that age is subjected to what must be, however carefully it is carried out, a somewhat alarming and intimidating experience—I suspect that the younger they are, the more intimidating the experience.
I hope that the Minister will be able to indicate some movement from the Government on this matter. It seems like a throwback to a much earlier age for child offenders. We should be able to deal more sensitively with the problems encountered by young people, even if there is some reason to believe that they may themselves be the cause of some problems. I hope that the Government will not necessarily wait for the APPG report to come out but will give an indication of their current state of thinking on this issue and perhaps on the broader issues which the all-party group has already covered. I beg to move.