Published today, it suggests:

• A superintendent or higher must endorse a decision to cause a child to be kept in a place of safety or detained in a police station
• When a child is held in custody a review should be carried out every four hours by custody staff, every eight hours by an officer of inspector rank and every 24 hours by an officer of superintendent rank 
• The certificate to hold a child in custody should be referred to as a child retention certificate or child detention certificate and anonymous details of the number of certificates should be provided to police boards every month
• A joint training and awareness programme to ensure that guidelines, relevant legislation and good practice are understood and implemented should be developed by forces and the Scottish Police Services Authority (SPSA)

Chief Inspector of Constabulary Mr Paddy Tomkins said: "The issue of youth offending is one that attracts a lot of attention and is high on the public agenda.

"However, we know that those under sixteen may appear more mature and self confident than their years would suggest but this may mask underlying fear or insecurity. No matter how outwardly confident or aggressive a child may be they should be treated consistently when detained by the police.

"To ensure compliance with relevant legislation and guidance we recommend that an officer of at least superintendent rank should endorse each decision to detain a child.

"It is also important to make sure there is a review process in place that is standard across forces, to help ensure continued compliance with the regulations. This should involve a review by custody staff every four hours, by an officer of at least inspector standard every eight hours and by an officer of at least superintendent rank every 24 hours.

"We also found that some forces were confused about criteria around deciding when to report a child to the procurator fiscal and whether they should be kept in a place of safety. To help make sure that officers fully understand the criteria and relevant legislation, Forces should work with the SPSA to develop training.

"I hope that these recommendations can help make the process and requirements involved in detaining children consistent and easily understood across Scotland, as well as ensuring that proper care arrangements are in place."

HM Inspectorate of Constabulary for Scotland is responsible for inspecting the eight Scottish police forces and five police services. HMICS operates independently of the police forces, police authorities and the Scottish Government and exists to monitor and improve the police services in Scotland.

This article was taken from Scottish Government, 26 June 2008