David Hanson, who took over the role last month following the creation of the Ministry of Justice, told MPs last week that the current figure of 3,000 young people in custody is not acceptable.
Giving evidence to the Constitutional Affairs Select Committee, he said: "We need to look at using custody as a last resort. We want to get a process where we start to identify help and support for young people before they get to the stage of offending.
"I'm looking at mechanisms to reduce the number of young people in prison. I'm eager to ensure we look at the effectiveness of restorative justice. In my view it can play a key role in our pre- and post-court strategy," said Hanson.
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