Youth Justice News
| Author | Tim Bateman |
| Published date | 01 April 2010 |
| Date | 01 April 2010 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/1473225409359824 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Youth Justice
Youth Justice News
10(1) 84–95
© The Author(s) 2010
Reprints and permission: sagepub.
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DOI: 10.1177/1473225409359824
yjj.sagepub.com
Compiled by Tim Bateman
The Number of ‘First Time Entrants’ to the Youth Justice System
in England Falls; As Does the Population of the Secure Estate for
Children and Young People
Figures released by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) on 26
November 2009 show that the number of children entering the youth justice system in
England for the first time had fallen from 94,481 in 2007/08 to 74,033 in 2008/09, a
decline of 21.6 per cent over the twelve month period. (The figures, it should be noted,
exclude Wales.) This represents the second successive reduction since the government
committed itself to effecting a 20 per cent fall in ‘first time entrants’ by 2020 in the Youth
Crime Action Plan, published in July 2008. The target has accordingly already been
exceeded.
The fall should be seen in context: it follows a period of sharp growth in the number of
first time entrants between 2002/03 and 2006/07. In consequence, as shown in Table 1, the
most recent figure is only slightly below that in the former year. As the DCSF acknowl-
edges, therefore, ‘careful monitoring will be needed to establish whether the target rate is
being maintained’.
On publication of the first data set in November 2009, it was suggested by some com-
mentators, most notably Rod Morgan, the erstwhile Chair of the Youth Justice Board for
England and Wales, that the reduction in the number of children entering the system for
the first time, was an artefact of a corresponding rise in the number of penalty notices for
disorder (PNDs) issued to young people below the age of 18 years, since this disposal
does not constitute first time entry.
At that time, Nacro pointed out that the scale of that increase was not sufficient to
account for the fall. That analysis is confirmed by the latest Statistical Release which also
provides data incorporating PNDs, as shown in Table 2. The figures are given from
2004/05 onwards, in which year the use of the PNDs was extended to 16 and 17 year olds
and when these are included, the fall over the past twelve months is, at 21.5 per cent,
similar to that where the disposal is omitted.
Corresponding author:
Tim Bateman, Nacro, Youth Crime Section, Park Place, 10–12 Lawn Lane, London SW8 1UD, UK.
Email: tim.bateman@nacro.org.uk
Bateman
85
Table 1. First time entrants to the youth justice system (England
only), 2000/01 to 2008/09
Year
Number of first time entrants*
2000/01
84,348
2001/02
83,257
2002/03
77,821
2003/04
82,757
2004/05
90,506
2005/06
101,580
2006/07
104,361
2007/08
94,481
2008/09
74,003
* Although not acknowledged in the publication, these figures diverge
slightly from those published earlier by the government. The original
figures are given in ‘Youth Justice News’ in Youth Justice 9(1): 88.
Table 2. Children receiving a reprimand, warning, conviction or
penalty notice for disorder for the first time
Year
Number of first time entrants and children
receiving penalty notices for disorder
2004/05
91,576
2005/06
105,053
2006/07
109,572
2007/08
99,080
2008/09
77,800
The reduction in first time entrants is uneven across the country, ranging from 29.6 per
cent in the West Midlands to 9.5 per cent in London. In the latter region, six out of the 32
local authority areas – Newham, Southwark, Enfield, Redbridge, Richmond upon Thames,
and Waltham Forest – registered an increase.
From the early part of 2009, the population of the secure estate for children and young
people has also shown a significant decline for the first time since the Youth Justice Board
began to collate data in April 2000, as shown in Table 3.
The fact that this reduction in the number of children in custody has coincided with
a fall in the number of children coming into the system may be significant given that
some commentators have previously argued that there is an inverse correlation between
the rate at which young people are diverted from the youth court and the level of cus-
tody. If such an analysis is accepted, the fall in the population of the secure estate might
be viewed as a consequence of the falling numbers of children entering the youth
justice system.
86
Youth Justice 10(1)
Table 3. Under 18 population of the secure estate for children
and young people during 2009 relative to the equivalent month in
2008: January–September (England and Wales)
Month (2009)
Population change over equivalent month
in 2008
January
-102
February
-235
March
-317
April
-349
May
-375
June
-363
July
-294
August
-419
September
-378
Young People Aged 10–17 Receiving their First Reprimand, Warning or Conviction, in England, 2000–01 to 2008–
09, Statistical Release November 2009, published by the Department for Children, Schools and Families is
available at: www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/STR/d000895/Youth_Crime_StatisticalRelease_final.pdf
Rod Morgan’s criticism of earlier figures is contained in ‘The smoke and mirrors behind the government’s
“positive” youth crime statistics’ in The Guardian, 8 January 2009, available at: www.guardian.co.uk/society/
joepublic/2009/jan/07/youth-crime-statistics
Nacro’s reservations are given in Some Facts about Children and Young People who Offend – 2007, Youth Crime
Briefing, March 2009.
Figures for the population of the secure estate for children and young people are published by the
Youth Justice Board and are available at: www.yjb.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/0842DC6E-BA93–4DBB-BD07–
5BD922026945/0/September09custodyfigures.pdf
The argument for an inverse correlation between the rate of diversion and the level of custody is outlined
in Reducing Custody: A Systematic Approach, Youth Crime Briefing, June 2006, published by Nacro, and available
at: www.nacro.org.uk/data/files/nacro-2007010200–192.pdf
More than 80 Children Held in the Secure Estate on Remand for
More than a Year in England and Wales
According to figures given on 12 October 2009 in answer to a parliamentary question, by
Maria Eagle, Under Secretary of State for Justice, 83 children below the age of 18 years
were held in custody or secure accommodation on remand for longer than 12 months
between 2004/05 and 2008/09. A further 921 children were remanded for between six
months and one year over the same period. The figures appear to show a trend towards
increasingly lengthy deprivation of liberty pre-trial. While the number of remands for less
than one month in 2008/09 was 16 per cent lower than in 2004/05, the equivalent figures
for remands over that length registered a 20 per cent rise.
The Minister also provided information in respect of the length of custodial sentences,
showing a different pattern: longer sentences have tended to fall while those shorter than
six months have risen. The latter includes an increase of more than one third in the number
Bateman
87
of custodial penalties of less than one month. Given that the minimum term available
under a detention and training order is four months – half of which is spent within the
secure estate – it would appear that this rise represents an...
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