Children found out late taken home

One hundred and twenty children were picked up and returned to their homes late on Friday night in a concerted effort by police to protect vulnerable youngsters roaming the streets after dark, the Home Office said.

Police and children's services in 27 areas in England have been taking part in Operation Staysafe over the course of the weekend in an attempt to prevent children becoming victims of crime or being drawn into criminal behaviour.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said that it was intended to send a clear message to parents that it was unacceptable for them not to know what their children were up to late at night.

Over the course of Friday night more than 1,000 young people were spoken to by the Staysafe teams, according to the figures released by the Home Office.

Of those, 120 were returned to their homes while 103 referrals were made to other services including family support teams, parenting programmes and alcohol awareness projects.

The sort of behaviour which attracted attention included drunkenness, drug use, being out late at night with nowhere to stay, large groups behaving anti-socially, and children being out far too late without an adult.

The Staysafe approach was pioneered by Merseyside Police where Deputy Chief Constable Bernard Lawson, who speaks for the Association of Chief Police Officers on youth crime, welcomed the involvement of other forces.

"Despite the fact that many young people have never offended, youth crime and anti-social behaviour are major sources of public concern to neighbourhoods," he said. "Importantly, Operation Staysafe allows the early intervention by police and support services with young people to prevent those youths becoming involved in criminal activity or becoming victims of crime themselves."

Ms Smith said that Operation Staysafe offered protection for at-risk children while providing a reassuring police presence on the streets.

"Most parents would be horrified to receive a knock on the door from police returning their child to them. But there are too many who think it is acceptable to allow their child to stay out late where they may be vulnerable to becoming victims of crime or committing crime," she said.