In an alert sent to youth justice practitioners last week, the Youth Justice Board warned that 3,300 young offenders were now in custody, taking the secure estate to full capacity, CYP Now can reveal.
The YJB said young people were being held in police cells and other "potentially unsafe and unsuitable" accommodation and urged youth offending team managers to consider the situation when preparing for court.
In a bid to ease the crisis, the YJB asked the Prison Service to move young offenders aged 18 out of juvenile jails and into young adult prisons "as a matter of urgency".
A spokeswoman for the YJB said young people had been held in police cells for "a couple of nights" because of overcrowding and the lingering effects of the prison officers' strike (CYP Now, 5-11 September). "It was a one-off because of the strike," she said. "We haven't got young people in police cells any more. The situation has eased with 18-year-olds moved into adult establishments."
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