Ex-chair Rod Morgan rejects YJB custody claim

The latest figures show that the under-18 custody population stands at 2,074 (as of February 2010), the lowest level in a decade and more than 500 down on the same time last year.

Current YJB chair Frances Done has said the reduction is a result of a number of factors, not least a reduction in first-time entrants to the youth justice system.

"This has been achieved by the targeted prevention work of youth offending teams, the police and other partners over many years," she added. "It is also the result of much greater focus at local level on custody rates, which has been encouraged by the YJB."

But Done's view has been questioned by former YJB chair Rod Morgan, who claimed the reduction was down to the Home Office scrapping police targets for offences brought to justice last year. He said the resulting reduction in youth custody numbers was mirrored in the adult estate, making the YJB claim that the drop was a result of prevention work "implausible". He said: "All the evidence pointed to the fact that the police were no longer earning Home Office brownie points for criminalising children and young people, not that there was any change in youth behaviour. It is because they have taken the numerical target away."

An evaluation of the Children in Trouble programme that trialled different methods of reducing custody numbers was published last week. It found conflicting targets within the justice system and a lack of accommodation and funding for alternative provision acted as barriers to lowering the number of young people in custody.