29 June 2023

“In the last 15 years we have seen a decrease in the number of children and young people in custody.”

50 people joined us for this Year of the Child session, where Melissa Beaumont (Lead Nurse and Clinical Lead for Children and Young People) gave an overview of the youth justice system and the types of young people they come into contact with.

There are four young offender institutes (YOI) across England, and CNWL runs the integrated healthcare service at HM Feltham and Cookham Wood, with input from CAMHS (children and adolescent mental health services), SLT (speech and language therapy) and psychology services.

Youth offending teams help young people who have been convicted but they also run local crime prevention programmes.

"The youth justice system in England and Wales comprises the organs and processes that are used to prosecute, convict and punish persons under 18 years of age who commit criminal offences. The principal aim of the youth justice system is to prevent offending by children and young persons."

- Crime and Disorder Act 1998

“England has one of the youngest ages of criminal responsibility in the western world - at 10 years old,” Melissa said.

“In the last few years we have seen an increase in the numbers of young people coming into custody for very serious offences like murder. We do have a number of young people who are at the beginning of serving a life sentence.”

However, in the last 15 years, there has seen a shift away from young people coming into custodial settings due to an emphasis on preventative work and a focus in the community.

“Early intervention and prevention programmes have largely been effective in diverting young people away from custody. There are more resources in youth offending teams and more emphasis on community sentencing. Working in these settings we know that the number of children and young people in custody has continued to drop.”

Recent history

"Overall, numbers of young people in the youth justice system have fallen dramatically since 2004,” said Melissa.

“In 2015, the number of children entering the youth justice system had fallen by 82% for the first time.”

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“5,800 children were sentenced to custody in 2007. But in 2021 the picture is different. There were 535 under 18’s in custody and a further 87 under 18’s in children and young people secure estates.”

What young people come into contact with the youth justice system?

  • High numbers of Black, Muslim and white working-class boys: over 40% are from BAME (Black, Asian and minority ethnic) backgrounds
  • A large proportion have previously been in care (38% in YOI and 52% in secure training centres)
  • Mental and other health problems, neuro-developmental difficulties are common
  • Many of the children in the system come from some of the most dysfunctional and chaotic families where drug and alcohol misuse, physical and emotional abuse and offending is common
  • Often they are victims of crimes themselves not just perpetrators

Melissa continues:

“The relationship between professional caregivers and the young person can be viewed as a key agent of change. Take time to build rapport and a therapeutic relationship; this may need to happen before you are able to complete a full assessment or start any intervention.”