The number of children and young people sent into custody in the Caerphilly county borough and Blaenau Gwent is dropping at a faster rate than anywhere else in the UK.
The Prison Reform Trust has written to the leader of Caerphilly council congratulating the authority on its efforts to keep children out of custody during 2009/10.
In Caerphilly and Blaenau Gwent there has been a 66% decrease compared to the national average of 24% according to figures releases by the national Youth Justice Board.
Cllr Lindsay Whittle, leader of Caerphilly CBC said, “The Youth Offending Management Board is working hard to drive forward improvements in this area and it is clear from these latest findings that their approach is leading the way in the UK. The council is also a key partner in the Safer Caerphilly Community Safety Partnership and we are working closely alongside colleagues in the police and other agencies to tackle this issue at a grassroots level. Hopefully we can continue to keep more children and young people out of custody thanks to our proactive approach.”
It is widely believed that child custody is ineffective as figures show that three quarters of those given custodial sentences are reconvicted with 12 months. It is also very expensive, so there are growing calls that it should be reserved for serious violent offences.
The Prison Reform Trust has been running a special programme called ‘Out of Trouble’ since 2007. The aim of the programme is to reduce child and youth.
