Statistics released in Parliament show that across England and Wales 11,490 under-18s were placed in a young offender institution, secure children's home or secure training centre in 2008. This is the lowest combined number of custodial sentences and remands since records began in 2001 when YOTs provided such data and the figure was 11,762.
Despite the overall fall, the figures show a large variation in different parts of the country with some youth offending team (YOT) areas showing big declines while others recorded rises.
Four of the five YOTs showing the largest increase over the seven-year period were in London with rates in Ealing, Hackney, Lewisham and Southwark all more than doubling. Overall, Wessex reported the highest increase in actual numbers.
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