IOPC Youth Panel driving change in police treatment of young detainees

Teenagers and young adults on the Independent Office for Police Conduct’s Youth Panel are helping drive improvements in the way police deal with young people in custody.

Members of the IOPC Youth Panel – made up of 42 young people aged 16 to 25 – have met with senior officers and national police groups for a roundtable event focused on a key recommendation from their new manifesto.

The recommendation – one of 10 in the Panel’s Manifesto for Change – calls for police to clearly communicate to young people that they have the right to complain or give feedback following all interactions with police. And the Panel say this is particularly important when young people have been stopped and searched or arrested.

It follows Youth Panel research last year that found only a third (35 per cent) of young people knew how to make a complaint about the police, and young people are one of the least likely groups to complain about their treatment by the police.

Panel members put their findings and recommendation to round table attendees, including a representative for the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) lead for custody.

And it’s led to a pledge by the NPCC to proactively encourage custody leads in police forces to adopt the recommendation by encouraging staff and officers to ensure young detainees are made aware of how they can provide feedback.

Youth Panel member Harriet Smith said: “At the roundtable we talked about how there needs to be a cultural shift from being afraid of complaints and feedback to embracing it as a positive step. This will help develop extra training and show what’s missing from the support currently offered. Feedback should improve services for other young people who might come into contact with the police. 

“It’s amazing to hear the NPCC is listening to our recommendations and helping improve things for other young people. Work involving young people can't be done unless they hear young people’s voices. The mantra “nothing about me, without me” is something I feel very passionate about. 

“I believe this is just the start of change and look forward to seeing how our work influences change across England and Wales for other young people like me."

Roundtable discussions focused on how the recommendation could be embedded across custody, stop and search, and wider police communications as part of a culture that values feedback, learning and transparency.

It also led to a written commitment by the Independent Custody Visiting Association (ICVA) to support the recommendation. They added that routinely informing children and young people of their right to complain would strengthen custody oversight and consistency across policing and give ICVA assessors a clear monitoring benchmark.

The IOPC’s Youth Panel is planning more roundtable events to present its manifesto recommendations to policing leaders.

They include:

• a new mechanism to allow community groups to make a complaint on behalf of groups of people with shared experiences.
• working with police and schools to ensure young people better understand the police complaints system and how to use it.
• and that all cases involving young people and vulnerable adults should be referred to the IOPC for assessment.

Chief Constable Ivan Balhatchet, NPCC Lead for Custody, praised the strength of the Youth Panel’s research. He said police custody practice for children has improved, including a trauma‑informed approach to detainees, but recognised the importance of continuing to help young people provide feedback about their experiences. 

He added: “The work of the IOPC Youth Panel is a powerful example of how listening to young people can drive meaningful and lasting improvement in policing. Their research highlights clearly that we must do more to ensure young detainees understand their rights and feel confident to give feedback about their experiences in custody.

“Feedback – including complaints – is not something policing should be defensive about. It is an essential part of learning, improving standards and building trust. 

“Through the NPCC, we are committed to encouraging custody leads across forces to embed this recommendation in daily practice, so that children and young people are routinely informed, supported and heard. This is a key part of our continuing work to deliver safe, fair and transparent custody for young people.”

Since 2022, the IOPC Youth Panel has conducted three annual surveys of young people aged 16-25 in England and Wales, comprising nearly 6,700 young voices.

Latest results show declining confidence in the police among young people (59%, down from 66%), although the proportion who say they would go to police if they were a victim of crime has remained broadly the same at 70 per cent in the last two surveys.

Just over half of young people said they believe police in their area treat young people fairly.

IOPC Director of Engagement Amanda Rowe said: “It is key that the views of young people are heard by police forces. The Panel plays an important role in shaping our work when it comes to young people as we aim to ensure more of them can have confidence in the police.

“The work of the Panel is youth-led at every stage. We want to empower and enable young people to have a voice on the issues which affect them.”