Children in custody 2023-24
Children in custody 2023-24 - report (PDF, 732.8 KB)
An analysis of 12–18-year-olds’ perceptions of their experiences in secure training centres and young offender institutions.
What we found
More children in custody felt unsafe than last year, and fewer said they were getting any education, according to an annual review by HM Inspectorate of Prisons. The review, which analysed survey findings from children living in young offender institutions (YOIs) and secure training centres (STCs) in England and Wales in 2023-24, found that children spent the majority of their time locked in their cells, with little done to address their offending. When they were able to mix with other children on the wings, this was often marred by conflict and violence.
At the time of our survey, 15% of children felt unsafe, more than twice the proportion in 2022-23 when just 7% said that they felt unsafe. Concerningly, those children who reported feeling unsafe experienced far worse outcomes in almost every aspect of daily life with inspectors often finding them isolating in their cells with minimal exercise or human interaction. In the worst cases, some children spent more than 22 hours a day locked up.