THE number of girls arrested by Gloucestershire Police have fallen by more than 60% in the last three years.
Officers in the county arrested 305 girls aged 17 or younger in 2011, a significant drop from 798 arrests in 2008.
Gloucestershire was one of 14 police services nationally to record a fall in arrests of more than 50%
A change in procedure is being attributed to the drop.
Police now hand out flip-flops to girls and help them home, rather than making an arrest with the intention of protecting them after a night out.