One in three children in care enter youth justice system, study finds

Children who have been in care are more likely to be involved with the youth justice system, a new study has found.

Researchers are calling for duties on local authorities to prevent criminalisation of children in the care system. Picture: Adobe Stock/ Motortion.

The study from Manchester Metropolitan University and Lancaster University surveyed 2.3 million children born between 1996 and 1999. It found that one in three of those with experience of the care system received a criminal caution or conviction when aged between 10 to 17 compared with four per cent of those who were not in care.

Findings also revealed that custodial sentences were almost twice as common among black and mixed ethnicity children compared with white children who had been in the care system.

Researchers have outlined a series of policy recommendations based on the findings, including:

Making linked data from the Ministry of Justice and other government departments more available

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