Custody threshold must be raised after small fall in child detention, say campaigners

Latest provisional figures show the number of under-18s in custody dropped by 102 between April 2013 and March 2014.

The fall over the past 12 months is an improvement on the 24 fewer under-18s in custody recorded in 2012/13, but still way behind the 445 fall seen in 2009/10.

The Standing Committee on Youth Justice (SCYJ) said the figures were the latest indicator that a series of rapid declines in youth custody in recent years are at an end.

SCYJ chair Penelope Gibbs believes that there is unlikely to be a substantial reduction on the 1,177 children still in secure settings until the thresholds for custody are raised. In particular the SCYJ wants to see a ban on imprisoning children for non-violent offences.

She said: “We believe that legislation is the answer to ensure the thresholds are addressed. Currently, you can still be put in custody for non-violent offences. Also some of the offences that are violent are not of a serious nature.”

Until then only small reductions are achievable such as reducing the number of young people on remand, which councils now have to pay for, says Gibbs.

Further research into why certain groups, such as looked-after children and those from black and Asian ethnic backgrounds, are disproportionately represented in the youth custody population could also bring down the figures.

Gibbs said: “There needs to be much more research into why they are over-represented. Using that knowledge could help reduce the youth custody population even further. Currently, there is not even any official record of how many looked-after children are in custody.”

Prison Reform Trust director Juliet Lyon agreed, adding that more also needs to be done to reduce the disproportionate number of children with mental health issues in custody.

She said: "While the welcome drop in child custody has been sustained, numbers could be reduced further by paying proper attention to the disproportionate numbers of children in care, children from black and ethnic minority backgrounds and children with mental health needs or a learning disability."