The number of under-18s in prison is currently around 2,000, down from more than 3,000 in 2002, but government has indicated it wants to see the figure drop further.
Speaking at a youth crime conference staged by Plymouth University, Penelope Gibbs, director of the Prison Reform Trust’s Out of Trouble Campaign, said a number of factors are responsible for recent falls.
These include "subtle" work by the Youth Justice Board to get magistrates in youth courts to raise custody thresholds and pursue alternatives.
But without primary legislation to set clear thresholds for custody, changes in government policy and the effect of public opinion could lead to different decisions being made, she said.
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