The case in summary: Children are particularly vulnerable when parents are arrested, and relatives can be badly treated in such situations. The results of a study show that arrests can have major negative effects on the quality of life and health of the relatives. The researchers recommend that children are taken aside during such an event, and that one should look at the possibility of using voluntary forces in such an action. It is also pointed out that it can take a long time before children get to meet their parents who are in custody, something that can worsen the trauma for the children. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by journalists at news before publication. As she came out of the bathroom with the child, uniformed police stood pointing guns at her. This is one of several stories told by relatives who are part of a new study from the Sociological Policlinic and NTNU in Trondheim. They have experienced something of the worst imaginable – to see one of their loved ones being arrested by the police in their own home. – We have seen for 30 years that relatives can be treated very badly during an arrest. That’s what family therapist and head of department at the organization For Prisoners’ Relatives (FFP), Nina Morseth Lauritzen, says. Arrested An arrest can be experienced by a child as a traumatic event for a long time. Also when the child gets older. That’s what the researchers wrote in the new study. They have investigated how arrests affect the people closest to them. The organization FFP wants the police to focus more on the next of kin during an arrest. – There are many people who have told us that “he or she was so nice – sit down and talk to the children.” But of course you get to judge completely from the other end of the scale too, says the family therapist. She talks a lot with spouses, children and parents of people who have been arrested by the police or who are in custody. Nina Morseth Lauritzen is head of department in the organization For prisoners’ relatives. Photo: Julie Haugen Egge / news – Negative effects on health Aksel Tjora is a professor at the Department of Sociology and Political Science at NTNU. He is one of the researchers behind the study. They have spoken to ten relatives of those arrested and seven police officers. The results of the research have been published in the journal Nordic Journal of Wellbeing and Sustainable Welfare Development. – When someone is arrested and taken into custody, it can have major negative effects on the quality of life and the health of the relatives, he says. Therefore, the researchers recommend that children are taken aside during such an event. In any case, if it is possible. He believes that one should look at the possibility of using voluntary forces in such an action. For example, the fire service or the Red Cross. Aksel Tjora and his colleagues believe that caring for relatives should be included in police training. One can train in situations where relatives are involved as relevant actors, they suggest. Photo: Julie Haugen Egge / news This is what they found 1. Relatives are put aside during an arrest. This happens because the police prioritize an effective arrest and preserving evidence. 2. Information to the next of kin is limited by both arrest and detention. This happens because the relatives may prove to have participated in a criminal act. 3. The children are particularly vulnerable. They may experience the arrest itself as brutal, especially when they do not get in touch with the incarcerated parent. The situation can also be difficult for them to understand. Defined roles Nina Lauritzen says that if the police are planning an arrest and are concerned about the children, the child protection services are contacted. But she goes on to say that this is not always the case. Aksel Tjora explains that the police and the suspect have clear roles in an arrest situation, while the next of kin are in a way “left over.” – Relatives are simply not a defined actor in the interaction that takes place in an arrest, says the professor. He also points out that this was perceived as problematic for people who work in the police. According to Tjora, it is clear that the police themselves find it challenging that they do not have the resources needed to make an arrest. They must first and foremost secure themselves and secure evidence. A handcuffed woman is led into a prison cell. Photo: Julie Haugen Egge/illustration image / news Can be better Audun Vårvik is subject and training manager for crime prevention methods in Trøndelag police district. He says that an arrest can be frightening for children, and that you never quite know how the person to be arrested will react. The police must therefore think of the best interests of the child and do so with the least possible burden on the child. – There is a difference between whether I have had time to plan an arrest or whether it is a more urgent situation. We try to have a chat with the child afterwards, regardless of whether the arrest went smoothly or whether he may have caused unrest. Vårvik says the police have more to do. – We want the best possible interaction with the relatives. We have routines to look after them, and especially children. This is often in collaboration with other actors such as child protection or the municipality. At the same time, I probably have a bit of work to do when it comes to, for example, contacting the Support Center for victims of crime, which the police have and which can help relatives. A hug Another big problem, which also comes to light in the new research, arises when the mother or father is seen in prison. In that case, it can be a long time before the children can come to visit. – We believe that there should be changes when it comes to children’s right to visit the remand prison. It can take many months before that happens, says Nina Lauritzen. She says that children in Denmark have other rights. There you can meet the prison within a week. She believes that the children in Norway must also be allowed to meet their parents in custody as soon as possible, even if it means more work for the police. – To calm down, and to make the crisis smaller than it needs to be. Get a hug and talk a little. It is crisis management in a very good way.
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This is how children are affected when mum or dad is arrested – news Trøndelag – Local news, TV and radio
