Number of children locked up 'rises fivefold'
The number of children locked up by the courts in England and Wales has increased fivefold in a decade, the charity Barnardo's said today.
Barnardo's said the use of custody for 10 to 14-year-olds rose by 550% from 1996 to 2006 and had led to children "being written off" by the age of 12.
The charity's chief executive, Martin Narey, a former director general of the Prison Service, said detaining so many youngsters was "inexplicable" and "unjustifiable".
Barnardo's said it recognised that custodial terms were needed for "grave" or "serious" crimes but added only 7% of sentences for 10-14-year-olds last year were for such offences.
More than £27 million could be saved per year if custodial terms were only reserved for the most serious offences, the charity claimed.
According to the charity, the cost of custody could be as much as £185,780 to accommodate a young person for one year - the equivalent of six years' schooling at Eton College.
A mixture of law, politics, autobiography and humour. Once described as "The Devilish Advocate" (Guardian), I do have the ability to provoke a response. Sometimes it comes from someone who uses a thought process, and sometimes from jerks usually associated with the knee.
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Showing posts with label Number of children locked up 'rises fivefold'. Show all posts
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Monday, September 22, 2008
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