youth crime statistics

http://www.barnardos.org.uk/what_we_do/our_work/youth_justice.htm

so that those at risk of or engaged in offending can be challenged but also improve their life chances – this is the best way to make our communities safer for everybody.

Children in the youth justice system are predominantly drawn from the poorest and most disadvantaged families and communities and have multiple problems:

• 60% have significant speech, language or communication difficulties
• around a quarter have a learning disability
• one third of young people in custody have a mental health disorder 3 times higher than the general population
• many have a history of abuse or bereavement
• around a half of young people in custody have been in local authority care at some point in their lives and a fifth are still subject to care orders
• children placed in custody face separation (sometimes by long distances) from family and friends, isolation from the community, and interruption to education, employment or training
• children do not always receive the support they need to cope and to turn their lives around. In particular, those leaving custody often have inadequate accommodation and are not supported in getting back into education or training
• custody is expensive and often ineffective. Despite improvements in recent years, 72% of children released from custody go on to re-offend within one year.