Topic Report: Children and young people 2023

Children and young people at risk of offending or within the youth justice system often have more unmet health needs than other children and greater mental health needs than other young persons.

The rate of first-time entrants to the youth justice system in Buckinghamshire in 2020 was not significantly different to England, however, over the past 5 years it was significantly decreasing.

In 2020/21, the rate of 10 to 17 year olds entering the youth justice system in Buckinghamshire was 1.9 (109 young people) per 1,000 population.

This was significantly better than the England average (2.8). The South-East was 2.6 per 1,000 population. The trend for Buckinghamshire over the past 5 years has been decreasing and getting better.

The number of young people receiving a substantive outcome (i.e. a Youth Caution, Youth Conditional Caution or Court outcome) from the Buckinghamshire Youth Offending Service has decreased over the last three years. This reflects the national picture, which is in part due to COVID- 19, but also due to the success of schemes aimed to divert young people from the youth justice system.

The majority of the young people in the service are age 16 and 17 (64.6%) and are more likely to be male than female and ethnic minorities are overrepresented compared to the population as a whole.

Mental health is a primary concern for the young people in the service with 60% of those assessed (using the national assessment tool for those who received a court outcome or a caution) over the last 3 years having had contact with mental health services and 15% to 20% having had a formal diagnosed mental health condition. Early detection of mental health concerns may reduce the likelihood young offenders will persist into adulthood.

Source: Buckinghamshire Youth Offending Service, April 2022.

Young people may be recorded in more than one year.