Girl, 10, handcuffed and locked in a cell for six hours

August 24, 2009 permalink

Ten-year-old Shannon Blake tries to pet a man's dog, then spends six hours in a jail cell.

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Girl, 10, handcuffed and locked in a cell for six hours

By Sophie Freeman, Last updated at 11:42 AM on 24th August 2009

The father of a 10-year-old girl who was arrested, handcuffed and locked in a cell for almost six hours has criticised police for being 'heavy-handed'.

Shannon Blake was apprehended by police and taken to a police station in the back of a van after she slapped a man who shouted at her in a park.

She then went through the ordeal of having a mug shot and finger-prints taken before she was locked in a tiny cell with just a bucket for a toilet.

Imprisoned: 10 year old Shannon Blake, seen here with her father Michael, was arrested and put in an adult police cell for six hours

Her father, Michael Blake, claims he wasn't even told she had been arrested until two hours later - and was then refused access to see her.

The 55-year-old lorry driver, from Tiverton, Devon, believes his daughter - who was given a formal reprimand for assault - should have been brought home instead.

He said: 'It seems absolutely ridiculous, she was treated like a criminal. I never received any information about it until more than two hours later.

'They locked her in a cell with a bucket if she wanted to use the toilet.

'They took her shoes away and the strings of her trousers.

'They finger-printed her and took her photo and then gave her a sandwich and half a cup of cold tea.

'It's absolutely appalling they can treat a 10-year-old in that way - what they did was really heavy-handed.

'What are they doing putting cuffs on a young girl? They should have just brought her home to me and I would have dealt with it.'

Shannon was arrested at 3pm on Tuesday after she slapped a man following an argument concerning his dog at a park in Tiverton, Devon.

Michael claims Shannon, who has never been in trouble before, attempted to stroke the unnamed man's pet but was shocked when he shouted at her.

Mr Blake said: 'Shannon had been playing in the BMX park when she went to stroke this man's dog.

'He shouted at her so she slapped him and gave him a push. My daughter has never been in trouble before. She's a bit of a tomboy but that's it.'

But police say they received a 999 call from a member of the public claiming that up to 20 youths were attacking a man who had been walking his dog.

Shannon was arrested with two boys aged 16 and 15 and taken to Heavitree Road Police Station in Exeter, Devon.

Mr Blake claims he was not informed his daughter had been arrested until 5.15pm and when he arrived at the station was not allowed to see her.

Shannon was eventually returned home at 8.45pm after spending almost six hours in the hands of police and received a formal reprimand.

A Devon and Cornwall police spokesman said officers handcuffed Shannon after an assessment of the situation.

'We had a call from a member of the public that a man who had been walking his dog had been attacked by a gang of up to 20 youths,' said Alan Mobbs.

'An initial report was that one of the youths had a stick in his hands.

'Handcuffing a 10-year-old is never done as a matter of routine. A decision was made by the officer at the scene, based on the girl's demeanour, likelihood of escape and likelihood of injuring someone else.

'The officer that made the decision considered it serious enough to use the handcuffs.

Mr Mobbs said Shannon was detained in an adult cell because there was no other secure accommodation for her.

'If there's the right sort of accommodation available (a young person) would be detained in a cell specifically for juveniles, closer to custody staff. It was busy so she had to go in a cell.

'You put drunks and people making a noise to the back of the custody blocks. You put juveniles near custody staff so they can be supervised closely.'

But Mr Mobbs said that, despite being further away from custody staff, Shannon had 'regular checks'. He added that Mr Blake was not told about his daughter's detention straight away due to the sheer volume of cases the police station was dealing with that day.

'It's not something we delay on but with a busy custody centre, sometimes it takes a while to get hold of the relevant people.'

Following her arrest, Shannon was reprimanded for an assault and a 15-year-old boy was also reprimanded for a public order offence.

A 16-year-old boy was charged under Section 5 of the Public Order Act, for allegedly using threatening or insulting words or behaviour. He was bailed until September 2.

Source Daily Mail (UK)