Our youth justice statistics for 2021 to 2022 were published today. I was pleased to see that many long-term positive trends continue in areas including reductions in numbers of children entering the system and in custody. However, it was also clear that acute challenges remain for children and services facing long waits for court and high use of custodial remand.
Reoffending has decreased to the lowest rate on record but we know the data is likely to have been impacted by pandemic restrictions. I remain hopeful, and next year we should be able to see a truer picture of reoffending as data will cover periods without major restrictions.
Positive long-term trends continue
- the number of children entering the justice system for the first time reached another all-time low, of just over 8000 children
- the number of children in custody was, on average, 450 - the lowest figure on record
Working in youth justice, my familiarity with these year-on-year reductions means it's easy to pass over the magnitude of what has been achieved. I keep reminding myself that behind these figures are children who were able to find another more positive, safer, more productive path because of the outstanding efforts of our colleagues across the youth justice system. Their work changes the lives of thousands of children each year, and makes all our communities safer, I can't thank them enough.
A glimmer of hope
For a long time, the Youth Justice Board (YJB) and multiple partners have been working towards reducing the over-representation of children from ethnic minorities, including White minorities, in the youth justice system. Finally, I can say that there may be a glimmer of hope. Whilst we are far from the end of the journey, as unacceptable over-representation remains, there are a number of figures which show it is slightly decreasing:
- Black children were involved in 16% of stop and searches (where ethnicity was known). This was a decrease of two percentage points from the previous year.
- the proportion of children entering the justice system from a Black background has decreased from 18% to 16%
- the proportion of children in youth custody who are Black reduced from 29% to 28%
- Black children make up a slightly smaller proportion (20%) of sentenced indictable offences compared to four years ago (21%)
Although clearly there is still a long way to go, I would like to use this as a rallying call to everyone to 'do their bit' and with the urgency and pace it still requires. We can, and must, ensure that all children, regardless of background or characteristics, have an equal chance to thrive.
Bucking the trend
The number of offences involving a knife or offensive weapon committed by adults increased by 6% in the last year, but for children it fell by 2% in the year and is 3% lower than ten years ago. This is the fourth consecutive year-on-year decrease for children.
The vast majority (97%) of these knife or offensive weapon offences committed by children were possession offences. Of course, any child carrying or using a weapon is a concern, and we need to do more to address the reasons, such as carrying for protection, but it's positive to see fewer children receiving a caution or sentence for such an offence.
Acute issues remain
Delays to court proceedings continue to affect children in the system, with an average time from offence to receiving an outcome (sentence/acquittal/other) at a huge 217 days. Although it's important that court proceedings only go ahead with the full preparation, assessments and expertise required, we know from victims and children with experience of the system that this wait can be incredibly stressful and can reduce opportunities for them to positively move on.
Average custodial sentence lengths have increased by six months, and although this may be a result of more serious cases being heard after COVID-19 restrictions lifted, the increase is a cause for concern given the continued issues facing the youth secure estate.
Disappointingly, behavioural management measures within the youth secure estate have increased to levels akin to pre-pandemic times. This increase must be seen in the context of greater activity as regimes are reinstated. This does, however, highlight the underlying challenges of safety in child custody and the need for systemic reform. I know those in the Youth Custody Service (YCS) have been working hard to retain some of the positive by-products of the changes forced by the pandemic whilst simultaneously ensuring regimes return to normal. We will continue to work closely with the YCS as part of our whole system oversight and as a critical friend, and look forward to the opening of the first secure school.
Last year I wrote of my frustration at the proportion of children who were in custody who hadn't been sentenced but were there on remand. It stood at 40%. This figure has now increased to 45%. Sadly, most children on remand are from an ethnic minority group (58%). And appallingly still almost three quarters (73%) of children on remand did not receive a subsequent custodial sentence. That means hundreds of children are still needlessly experiencing the trauma and stigma that comes with custody, being held often more than 100 miles away from their families and support networks.
On the subject of remand, I am excited to see the first home open as part of the YJB-funded London Accommodation Pathfinder this year. The homes will provide supported accommodation for children facing remand or custodial detention and I hope it will be a first step in providing an alternative model which can bring down the number of children held on remand in custody whilst providing better outcomes for children and therefore greater public protection in the long run.
Our work continues
Although there is much we can learn from these statistics, there is a lot we don't yet know. As an organisation we are strengthening our capability to bringing together data and insights so we can better monitor and improve outcomes for children who receive support from youth justice services.
We are uniquely positioned to convene and galvanise partners from across the system. Where there are issues we haven't collectively solved such as over-representation and use of remand, we will continue to play our part and do our very best for children and communities.
We know that we can make the greatest gains by ensuring children get the support they need at the earliest possible time in their lives, and I am heartened by some of the progress being made which is reflected in these statistics.
