Oh dear, I can feel compassion fatigue coming on. Why should we be bothered about this lot? For the same reason you might want to be bothered about all other vulnerable young people. The point here is that currently they are not being effectively engaged with, which is no good for them, and no good for the rest of us who will have to deal with more relapses into crime.
OK, I'm sorry. What's the story then? At any one time we've got nearly 1,700 18- to 20-year-olds being held on remand; that is, they've been refused bail and are awaiting trial or sentencing. Some are in young offender institutions, while others are in adult prisons - sometimes in very small numbers (only seven out of 1,266 offenders in Strangeways are under 21).
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