Statistics released by the Youth Justice Board (YJB) show the number of custodial sentences handed out in relation to the total number of convictions in youth courts in 2008/09. They demonstrate that large variations remain across England and Wales in terms of the proportion of young people being jailed.
The five areas with the highest proportion of custodial sentences to court convictions are Merthyr Tydfil, Southwark, Lambeth, Peterborough and Brent.
In Merthyr Tydfil, which also had the highest proportion in 2007/08, more than one in five children sentenced at court was given a custodial sentence. By stark contrast, in Newcastle only around one in 60 (1.6 per cent) is sentenced to custody. Nationally, rates went up in 2008/09 to 6.1 per cent, having stood at 5.7 per cent in 2007/08 and 5.9 per cent in 2006/07.
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