The Youth Justice Board (YJB) has voiced its disappointment regarding the government's decision to reverse the policy preventing 18-year-olds from being held in the secure estate for children. The YJB acknowledged the challenges facing the adult prison estate and the difficult decisions ministers must make concerning prison capacity.
However, the YJB stated that capacity pressures should not lead to moving away from effective, evidence-based practices. The board highlighted that youth justice has achieved substantial reductions in children entering the system and in custody over the last two decades, driven by prevention, early intervention, and understanding underlying causes of offending behaviour.
The YJB emphasised that the safety and welfare of children in custody must remain the primary consideration. It noted that specialist skills to support young adults are not consistently in place across the children's estate. The YJB warned that this decision, combined with staffing challenges, the physical environment, and the complex profile of children in custody, could have unintended consequences for the safety and wellbeing of both children and staff.