CYP Now - Youth custody: Is a rethink of youth justice required?

With England and Wales having one of the highest youth custody levels in Europe, Andy Hillier asks a panel of experts what should be done to reduce the numbers of young people held.

- WILLIAM HIGHAM, HEAD OF POLICY, THE PRISON REFORM TRUST

"See you soon." That's the farewell all too often given to children and young people leaving custody by prison staff. People working in the system see the bitter reality behind the sky-high reoffending rates for young people.

Three-quarters of male offenders aged 18 to 20 reoffend within two years. For children, the figures are even higher. And yet the Government continues to act as though prison is the best answer for preventing crime among young people. There is a ratchet effect: if prison didn't work, then the answer must be more prison.

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