Statistics published by the Ministry of Justice show that in July there were 861 under-18s being held in custody - a fall of 3.26 per cent on the 890 being held in June.
The current level now stands at around a quarter (28.03 per cent) of the level of the recent peak, when in June 2008 it stood at 3,072.
However, ethnic disproportionality within youth custody is continuing to rise.
Of the 861 under-18s in custody, 399 are black, Asian, or from an ethnic minority (BAME) background - representing 46.34 per cent of the total, compared with 50.87 per cent who are white, with 2.79 per cent classified as "not known".
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