An unproductive justice system drives up costs

We now have yet another coalition U-turn, with the Justice Secretary's plans to reduce the prison population thrown out. One consequence is that he now has to find another £100m in savings. What does this mean for young people who offend? One worry is that the synthetic tabloid fury will be diverted to young people – "yobs, louts and the Asbo culture" – leading to right-wing political pressure for yet harsher sentences for young people. Another worry is that some of the £100m will come from the youth justice budget.

Keeping one young person in custody can cost around £140,000 according to the New Economics Foundation, not counting all the costs associated with courts, the probation service and police. It makes financial sense to invest in preventive services such as the youth service. Unfortunately, the government is still not sufficiently joined up to transfer spending towards services that reduce offending. Instead, local authorities are being forced to reduce spending on youth services simply to balance their year-on-year budgets – a classic example of short-term saving leading to large costs in future years.