A female police officer in Tasmania is facing an internal probe after an 11-year-old boy was taken into custody to show him what it was like to be arrested.
In a statement, Deputy Commissioner Scott Tilyard said it was alleged the off-duty officer took the boy to Hobart's Remand Centre in an attempt to curb his "reportedly bad behaviour" on January 14.
It is understood the officer, who graduated last year, is related to the boy.
The Deputy Commissioner's statement said the boy was taken in at the request of the boy's extended family and he was accompanied by a family member.
"The boy was searched in accordance with remand centre protocol, in the belief he had been legitimately arrested," the statement said.
"Once the police custody sergeant became aware of the boy's presence he was immediately released. He was in the remand centre for under 20 minutes.
"A senior police officer attended and immediately commenced an investigation. The investigation is ongoing."
It is understood the officer has not been suspended.
It follows an incident last month when a 13-year-old Aboriginal girl was strip-searched while being held in custody overnight.
