Parliament requires every group to have an official statement of the group’s purpose. The purpose of the APPG on Children in Police Custody is recorded as:

‘To raise awareness of the experiences of children in police custody; for Parliamentarians to hear from children, professionals and experts about the impacts of police custody on children, their families, carers and communities; to develop recommendations for reform to ensure that children’s rights are upheld and respected in police custody.’

The Group was originally founded by Janet Daby MP in December 2022. She was the original Chair of the Group. Valerie Vaz MP joined her as co-Chair in 2024.

The Group was reinstituted in December 2024 and the current Chair is Michelle Welsh MP.

The secretariat for the Group is Dr Miranda Bevan, a lecturer at King’s College London. Her work as the secretariat is supported by funding from the Economic and Social Research Council. She can be contacted at miranda.bevan@kcl.ac.uk.