CYP Now - Alternatives to custody need to be found

In April this year, the UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice adopted the resolution that national action plans should be formed to reduce the imprisonment of juveniles.

This action plan would also include targets for fewer children in prison and to use diversion and restorative justice as alternatives to custody.

The number of children and young people being sentenced to custody has almost doubled in the past 10 years. This is made worse still by related increases in levels of mental illness, distress and self-harm. Fifteen-year old Liam McManus last month tragically became the 30th child to die in state custody since 1990, with most of these deaths self-inflicted. Furthermore, locking up our young people doesn't appear to be working - reconviction rates for children who come out of custody stand at 70 per cent within the first year.

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