Welsh Government policy has taken a distinct approach to youth justice - one that prioritises prevention, rehabilitation, and the rights of children over punitive measures. For more than a decade, this approach has emphasised supporting children in conflict with the law, recognising that many are shaped by trauma, neglect, and systemic disadvantage.
It’s important to note that criminal justice remains a reserved matter under the current devolution settlement. This means that while Wales can influence youth justice through devolved areas such as education, health, and social services, core justice powers — including sentencing and custody — remain with the UK Government.
However, through initiatives like the Youth Justice Blueprint and the adoption of trauma-informed practice, Wales has sought to reframe youth offending as a welfare issue as much as a legal one. Even the language has shifted: across Wales, Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) have rebranded to Youth Justice Services (YJSs) — a symbolic and practical gesture toward a rehabilitative model.
This article explores how that approach has evolved and considers how emerging patterns in youth crime may challenge or reinforce its future direction.
Rights and Resilience
Over the past decade, Welsh Governments have anchored many children’s policies in a rights-based framework, rooted in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Rights of Children and Young Persons (Wales) Measure 2011. That approach has extended into youth justice through the Youth Justice Blueprint for Wales, a joint framework developed with the Youth Justice Board (YJB) for England and Wales.
The Blueprint commits to a child-centred and trauma-informed approach, recognising how adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) shape behaviour. According to Public Health Wales, ACEs are:
Traumatic events, particularly those in early childhood, that significantly affect the health and well-being of people. These experiences range from suffering verbal, mental, sexual and physical abuse, to being raised in a household where domestic violence, alcohol abuse, parental separation or drug abuse is present.
Unlike the more punitive and enforcement-led approach often seen in parts of England, the Blueprint places greater emphasis on trauma-informed care, child rights, and multi-agency collaboration. While both nations operate under the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales, the Welsh Government has leaned more heavily into welfare-based interventions, though similar principles are increasingly being adopted across England.
Exploitation and Organised Crime
The Senedd Children, Young People and Education Committee’s Children on the Margins report highlights how children on the edges of systems—those missing from care, excluded from education, or living in poverty—are particularly vulnerable to criminal exploitation. It describes how Child Criminal Exploitation (CCE) often involves grooming by organised crime groups, who manipulate children into carrying drugs, weapons, or stolen goods. These children may be coerced through debt bondage, threats, or emotional manipulation, and are frequently targeted because of their vulnerability such as experiencing domestic violence or parental substance misuse during childhood. The report warns that any child can be exploited, but those facing systemic disadvantage are at greatest risk.
Communication Needs and Vulnerability
Children with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) are significantly over-represented in the youth justice system. According to the Senedd Equality and Social Justice Committee’s 60% – Giving Them a Voice report, around 60% of children in the youth justice system have SLCN, compared to just 10% in the general population.
These needs can include hearing impairments, dyslexia, or social communication difficulties linked to autism. Without early identification and appropriate support, children with SLCN may struggle to understand legal processes, articulate their experiences, or engage meaningfully with rehabilitation services.
The report warns that this lack of support undermines equitable access to justice and calls for speech and language therapists to be embedded in all Youth Justice Services across Wales. It also highlights the need for frontline professionals—especially in schools—to be trained to recognise and respond to communication challenges early, before children are drawn into the justice system.
Progress on the Ground
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Most youth justice data is published on an England and Wales basis. Where possible, this article highlights Wales-specific trends, but some figures reflect the broader jurisdiction. The Welsh Government’s Youth Justice Interactive Dashboard is a useful source of data. |
While Wales has adopted a distinct, welfare-oriented model, the overall downward trend in youth custody and first-time entrants to the youth justice system mirrors patterns seen across England and Wales. The data shows:
- Fewer children entering the system for the first time, due to increased diversion and prevention efforts.
- Reduced reliance on custodial sentences, with a stronger emphasis on community-based and rehabilitative interventions.
The Youth Justice Board’s 2023–24 report shows that the number of first-time entrants to the youth justice system in England and Wales fell to its lowest level on record in December 2023 — to under 8,300. This is down 3% from the previous year, a trend that has been steadily decreasing since 2011. The biggest year-on-year decrease was among Black children, with a 6% fall.
Meanwhile, the average number of children in custody remains at historically low levels. In the year ending March 2024, there was an average of 430 children held in custody at any one time across England and Wales. This is a fall of 3% against the previous year and the lowest number on record.
In Wales specifically, the shift toward diversion and community-based support has led to a rebalancing at Hillside secure children’s home, where welfare placements (where children are placed in secure accommodation not because of criminal behaviour, but due to concerns about their safety or well-being) now outnumber youth justice placements.
Welfare placements are made under the Children Act 1989 rather than youth justice legislation, intended to protect children at risk of exploitation, self-harm, or absconding. Hillside is currently the only secure children’s home in Wales.
Changing offence profiles
Despite these gains, new challenges are emerging.
After years of decline, youth reoffending rates across England and Wales have edged upward, reaching 32.5% for the year ending March 2023 — the highest rate recorded in the past decade. Children who reoffended committed an average of 4.34 reoffences, the highest frequency rate in the last 10 years — up 7% from the previous year and 34% higher than a decade ago.
Remand (when a young person is held in custody while awaiting trial or sentencing) also remains a stubbornly high proportion of the youth custody population, even though many children held on remand do not go on to receive custodial sentences. In the year ending March 2024, almost two thirds (62%) of children remanded to youth detention accommodation did not subsequently receive a custodial sentence.
Offence profiles are shifting too. In the year ending March 2024, the number of proven offences committed by children rose for the second consecutive year, increasing by 4% to around 35,600. Violent offences now make up a greater share of these proven offences, with violence against the person rising by 5% and accounting for 34% of all proven offences.
The most significant increase was in sexual offences, which rose by 47% to around 1,400 proven offences — the highest number recorded since 2018. Increases were also seen in acquisitive offence groups: theft and handling, robbery and burglary.
Meanwhile, there were just over 3,200 knife or offensive weapon offences resulting in a caution or sentence committed by children — a 6% decrease compared with the previous year and the sixth consecutive year-on-year fall, though still 20% higher than a decade ago.
Proven offences in Wales
According to the Welsh Government’s Youth Justice Interactive Dashboard, Wales continues to reflect many of the broader trends seen across England and Wales, but with some distinct patterns.
The number of proven offences committed by children in Wales has remained relatively stable, though there are regional variations in offence types and outcomes. Youth Justice Services in Wales report a continued emphasis on diversion and early intervention, with lower rates of custodial sentencing compared to England.
Youth Justice Services in Wales, alongside stakeholders such as the Children’s Commissioner for Wales and the Senedd’s Children, Young People and Education Committee, have expressed concerns about the rise in serious offences and the overrepresentation of children with complex needs.
Future steps
These trends pose difficult questions. As Wales continues to explore the devolution of youth justice, the system faces a critical test: can a model built around preventing low-level offending adapt to more serious and complex forms of harm – without reverting to punitive measures?
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This article is part of a series exploring key aspects of criminal justice in Wales, from the current devolution settlement and intergovernmental working, to probation, youth justice policy, and policing. You can read our first article here: ‘Almost Full: Why is Wales expanding prisons it may not need?’ |
Article by Sarah Hatherley, Senedd Research, Welsh Parliament
