England and Wales compared to other Western Countries

• More children in England and Wales are being locked up than in any other country in Western Europe:

  Under 18s in custody at the end of August 2013:

  England and Wales - 1239

  Finland - 2
• Until 1995, courts could only send a child to custody if they had committed a serious offence such as murder (Thompson and Venables) or rape. This number has decreased but the amount of children going for minor crimes has increased.
• Vulnerable young offenders are at risk of serious, long-term problems as the youth justice system is failing to support their needs.
• In 2018 the Ministry of Justice showed that the average number of young people in custody that are self-harming is 106 per month. 4 people under the age of 21, in 2018, died in prison or in youth offender institutes. The amount of incidents that require physical restraint increases each year.
• Around 1/4 of young offenders (roughly 20,000 in England and Wales) have some sort of learning disability. 60+% have a level of difficulty communicating. A lot of young offenders have emotional needs and mental health needs.