THE number of children arrested in Essex has halved in the past four years.

Latest figures from the Howard League for Penal Reform show Essex Police arrested 3,718 youngsters in 2014, compared to 7,739 in 2010.

This is a drop of 52 per cent.

The charity runs a programme of work to keep as many children as possible out of the criminal justice system.

The reduction in the number of arrests led to a reduction in the number of children from Essex in prison, which dropped by 56 per cent in the last four-year period.

Frances Crook, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “The Howard League has worked closely with police forces round the country to stem the flow of children being sucked into the criminal justice system.

“The fantastic success of our programme of work and police improvement to their practices, means thousands of children have not had their life chances blighted.

“It is for parents and schools to deal with normal childish challenging behaviour, not the police.

“It is to the credit of the police they have introduced restorative approaches and given frontline officers discretion to make professional decisions.”